


A Line You Shouldn't Cross

by ZoneRobotnik



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Andrew is a bastard, Cass is just as bad as her mother, Drugs, F/M, Hallucinations, Hurt Varian (Disney), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Kidnapping, M/M, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), Slavery, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:54:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoneRobotnik/pseuds/ZoneRobotnik
Summary: After Varian destroys the translation key to the Demanitus Scroll to keep Cassandra from learning the third incantation, she kidnaps him and forces him to tell her what the scroll says, finding out by chance that Varian has a secret even he doesn't know, a secret that awakens something dark within her.(Canon up until "Cassandra's Revenge".)
Relationships: Andrew | Hubert/Cassandra (Disney: Tangled), Andrew | Hubert/Varian (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 76
Kudos: 200





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

Cassandra was storming his lab and was sure to get the Demanitus scroll if she had her way, not to mention the translations he’d put on the wall. Varian acted fast and mixed up an acid solution while she was distracted with Rapunzel and the others.  
  
“Hey, Varian?” He froze as he heard her on the other side of the table he was hiding behind, looking up when he heard her whistle for him.  
  
He heard the whoosh of the blade and quickly moved forward to avoid it, getting up and backing away from her. “If you wanna read that scroll, you are gonna need my translation key!” He told her, pointing at it. Then he splashed it with the acid solution he was mixing up. “HAH! And, now that I’ve destroyed it,” he crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, “you will never know what the scroll says because the only translation in _earthly existence_ ,” he swiped at the air dramatically, “is locked safely away up here.” He pointed to his head. “BOOM!” He did a victory pose.  
  
“Is that a fact?” Cassandra asked with an unsettling smile.  
  
“Oh-ho, yeah!” Varian said, then stopped short with a heavy gasp when he realized what he’d done. “I should not have said that out loud…” He said nervously to himself as she walked towards him. He backed away from her, but knew that with the wall behind him, the stairs too far away and everyone busy trying not to die over there…he was in trouble.  
  
He bumped against the wall and Cassandra grinned. “Then I guess _you’re_ coming with _me_.”  
  
He tried to duck out of the way, but she slammed her elbow into his head and he went down. He let out a weak groan as she put his bag on her shoulder and then lifted him up to half-drag him out. The next time he tried to resist, she slammed him against the wall to knock him out and then lifted him on her shoulder to carry him.  
  
\--  
  
Cassandra got Fidella from the stable and draped Varian over her back. “Sorry, girl. You’re an accomplice in kidnapping.” She said casually, leading her along. “I don’t want to hurt you, so behave, alright?”  
  
Fidella glumly went along with it, the black-rock sword a threat by itself even without the evidence of her newfound cruelty being draped over her saddle. Cassandra led her out and across the bridge, threatening anyone who dared to come near and try to help her captive.  
  
She reached the woods and dug into his bag as she walked. “Let’s see…potions, books, notes…ah.” She held up a clear bottle with a pink liquid that said [Truth Serum] on the label. “What a good boy, labeling his potions for me.” She said mockingly before putting it back in.  
  
The Enchanted Girl, her guide in the ways of the Moonstone, appeared alongside her. “ ** _So, this is your plan? Running away?_** ” She asked calmly, rolling her eyes.  
  
“NO ONE is running away!” Cassandra snapped at her.  
  
Fidella raised an eyebrow, wondering who she was talking to.  
  
“ ** _One would think that, now that you have the power of the black rocks,”_** The Enchanted Girl said with an exasperated expression, “ ** _you wouldn’t feel the need to hide._** ”  
  
“I don’t _hide_ from _anything_!” Cassandra said firmly.  
  
“ ** _I don’t need to remind you that defeat is not an option?_** ” The Girl asked calmly. “ ** _And when Rapunzel comes for you, you must be prepared to protect what is rightfully yours.”_**  
  
Cassandra scowled, thinking of Rapunzel taking the Moonstone away from her.  
  
The Girl looked thoughtful. “ ** _What you need is…”_**  
  
“A stronghold!” Cassandra said eagerly. “And I know _just_ where to build one.”  
  
\--  
  
She pushed aside the willow leaves and led Fidella in. Then she took Varian off her back and went to set him on the ground, where she confined his wrists with black-rock cuffs. “You can go now.” She told the horse. “I don’t imagine you want anything to do with this, or me, anymore.”  
  
The horse left without a second glance. She smirked and took off Varian’s bag, sitting on a log to start digging through it for that truth serum again. When she found it, she walked over to where the boy was fast asleep. His lips were slightly parted and she tilted his head back against the tree behind him. He let out a soft moan of pain as she brushed her fingers against the bump on his head and she rolled her eyes.  
  
“Well, _someone_ should have been more cooperative.” She said, opening the truth serum bottle. “This will handle that, though, at least for what I need you for.” She poured the potion into his mouth and then closed his mouth with her hand, forcing him to swallow. Then she got up and walked away to sit on a log and watch him sleep.  
  
That got boring fast, of course, so she started going through the ruins to see if there was anything that could be salvaged of the place her mother called home for eighteen years.  
  
She didn’t find anything of worth, of course, and she angrily kicked a bucket she passed on the way back over to Varian. ‘Still out.’ She thought, passing him by and going to pick up a piece of the wall Rapunzel had painted so meticulously with her sword. It fell apart, of course, and she glared at it with little satisfaction.  
  
“Mmn…”  
  
‘About time.’ She walked over to the log in front of him and sat down to wait for him to fully wake up.  
  
“Nn…myah.” He shuddered a bit, then seemed to realize he wasn’t safe at home. Or even in a bed. He looked around frantically before he focused on her. “Where are we?!”  
  
“I _need_ that third incantation, Varian.” She said, cutting right to the chase. No need for _pleasantries_ with someone you kidnapped, after all.  
  
He glared at her defiantly, which was about an intimidating as a kitten. “Never.”  
  
“I knew you’d say that.” She said with a sly smile, then picked up his bag. “That’s why I went through your little bag of _tricks_.” She dropped it back down, then held up the clear bottle that held the Truth Serum. “I found something in here that _might_ change your mind.” She got up and walked over to him, holding out the bottle, the label clearly displayed. “Recognize _this_?”  
  
“Hah! No.” He lied as she walked away from him to pick up the Demanitus Scroll, and then he gasped before his face screwed up in pain. “Gaaaah, yes, it’s a truth serum of my own design. It compels the drinker to tell the truth and answer _any_ question asked.” He froze in realization. “Wait, but I never drank that!”  
  
Cassandra leaned down next to him with the scroll. “Lucky for me, you sleep with your mouth open.” She said with a grin, and then she scowled. “So, let me _ask_ you: what’s the third incantation?"  
  
He tried to resist it, she could tell. He let out a pained groan as he tried to fight it, but she knew he couldn’t resist long. Finally, he slumped against the tree. “Crescent high above…” He started, and she knelt down and eagerly started to write down the translation, “evolving as you go…”  
  
She noticed a strange glow coming from her side and glanced over to see Varian’s eyes and the blue streak in his hair were…glowing? He continued on as Cassandra noticed black rocks starting to sprout around them. “Raise what lies beneath…and let the darkness grow.”  
  
  
  
She looked back at him and saw that his eyes had completely lost any sign of consciousness, blotted out with blue just like Rapunzel’s were with black when she cast that other moon spell. And then…he started to sing.  
  
“ _Bend it to my will.  
Consume the sunlight’s glow.  
Rise into the sky,  
And let the darkness grow.  
Let darkness grow._”  
  
When he finished, he slumped against the tree and the glowing stopped. Cassandra slowly stood up, looking at him. “…EXCUSE ME?!” She cried in disbelief.  
  
“ ** _You seem perplexed._** ” The Girl said, appearing at her side.  
  
“Why—how does he have moon powers?!” Cassandra demanded. “Didn’t you say it was MY destiny to have it?!”  
  
“ ** _Indeed, it is._** ” The Girl assured her. “ ** _However, at the time that the Dark Kingdom fell, the Moonstone released a wave of energy that took much of its power away. That energy went into this boy’s father and, when he was born, Varian was born with the moonstone’s powers. However, he does not know he has them, nor can he control them._** ”  
  
“Can I take them from him?” Cassandra asked.  
  
“ ** _Unfortunately, no. Not without killing him, and then the power will be lost forever. However…_** ”  
  
“Nngh…” Varian was coming to again, and Cassandra knelt down to grab his hair roughly. “Ow, what?!”  
  
“You have _moon powers_.” She said, tightening her hold on his hair.  
  
“Uh, I think if I had powers like that, I could’ve just saved my dad without anyone else’s help!” Varian argued.  
  
“She was right…you don’t _know_.” Cassandra let go of his hair. “Look around you, Varian. _You_ did this.”  
  
Varian looked around and yelped when he saw black rocks all over the place. “Nooo, they were here earlier, I saw—nnngh, yeah, no, those are new. But didn’t YOU do them?”  
  
“No. I haven’t cast the spell yet. I don’t know if I can.” She walked away from him with the scroll and held it out, standing to chant.  
  
“Crescent high above,  
Evolving as you go.  
Raise what lies beneath,  
And let the darkness grow.  
  
Bend it to my will.  
Consume the sunlight’s glow.  
Rise into the sky,  
And let the darkness grow.  
Let darkness grow. _”  
  
_As she chanted, the black rocks started to come out and moved together, growing and shaping into a tall tower that rivaled the height of Corona Castle – and would certainly be seen from there.  
  
‘So, I _can_ use the magic.’ She thought. ‘But…do _I_ have to?’ She walked over and knelt next to Varian to unchain him before gripping his shoulder and focusing on the moonstone. “Move the black rocks for me, Varian.”  
  
“I don’t know what you—” He cut himself off as he let out a sharp gasp of pain. Then his eyes and hair started to glow again and he raised his hand mechanically.  
  
Cassandra held onto his shoulder tightly and focused on what she wanted him to build. The black rocks came out and started to fuse together until they shaped into a black-rock tree at the bottom of the tower. Satisfied, she let go of his shoulder and he slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut.  
  
“Alright, then.” She lightly slapped him to wake him up again and he let out a startled sound before blinking up at her. “Come on, we’re going inside.” She pulled him to his feet and into the tower. He didn’t resist; whether out of fear or obedience via the moonstone, she didn’t care.  
  
\--  
  
Varian wasn’t sure what had happened. He knew that he was talking, he felt a stabbing pain all over him from within and then he blacked out. It had happened twice in one night and had never happened before. And Cassandra had said he had _powers_? What did _that_ mean? Was she completely crazy?  
  
And now he was being led up some very high spiral stairs with Cassandra pulling him by the arm. His wrists were bound by black-rock cuffs again, this time in front of him instead of behind. At least she’d let him go back for his bag, for what good that would do against her.  
  
“And then what?” Cassandra asked suddenly.  
  
He looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. ‘No one…said anything.’ He thought.  
  
Cassandra suddenly tightened her grip on him and he winced. Okay, she was definitely reacting to _something_ …  
  
“Who is she talking to?” He asked the air quietly, glancing around.  
  
They reached the top of the tower and Cassandra turned to him. “Alright, Varian. I’m going to remove the cuffs, but you have to be a good boy, okay?” She moved her hand over the cuffs and they glowed before falling apart around his wrists. “Don’t try anything.”  
  
He sighed, massaging his wrists. “…Right…”  
  
He had no idea what Cassandra kept doing to him, but he wasn’t going to risk upsetting her and getting knocked out again. He followed her over to the far side of the room and she looked thoughtful. “Varian, I think we should do some interior decorating.”  
  
“Why are you telling _me_?” He asked. “I don’t do inte—aghhhh!” He cried out as she grabbed his shoulder again and gave it a tight squeeze. He felt the sharp pain in his entire body again and a rush of energy before he completely blacked out again.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra reveals to Varian about his powers, Varian has a strange dream and Rapunzel comes to the rescue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

He woke up to find himself lying in a cage next to a throne, both made of black rocks. He reached out and gripped the bars, looking out at Cassandra. “Why did you lock me up? What did I do wrong?” He asked anxiously.  
  
“Oh, this is just to make sure no one gets to you.” Cassandra assured him.  
  
“I don’t understand.” Varian said, frowning.  
  
“Like I told you, you have moon powers.” Cassandra sighed and leaned on the arm of her throne. “Okay, the way I was told, when the Dark Kingdom fell, your father absorbed some of the moonstone’s energy. Then, by sheer luck of the draw, you were born with powers.”  
  
“Again, I _don’t_ have powers. If I _did_ , I would have used them to take care of the black rocks a _long_ time ago.” He said firmly.  
  
“Varian, let me put this simply.” She gestured to the Moonstone. “You are basically another Moonstone. A lost piece of it that has been rejoined. When I use the Moonstone on you, I can control you and make you use your powers.”  
  
“C-Control me?!” Varian yelped.  
  
“That’s right.” She smirked slyly. “All these here? This throne, those pillars, even this cage, were made by you under my complete control.” She stood up. “You know, thinking about it, I can see why my mother took Rapunzel. Knowing that someone took power that belongs to you is _infuriating_.” She clenched her fist. “But, it’s alright.” She smirked at him over her shoulder. “Now that I have _you_ , I have the _full_ power of the Moonstone.”  
  
He gripped the bars of his cage. “No…no, I don’t want—”  
  
“See, that’s the beauty of kidnapping and enslaving you.” She grinned, walking over and kneeling down. She reached out and Varian flinched back, expecting her to grab his hair again, but she just cupped his cheek in her cold, armored hand. “You don’t get a _choice_ in the matter, Varian.”  
  
“You’ve completely lost your mind.” He said in disbelief.  
  
“I haven’t lost anything.” She stood up and walked away from him. “All I’ve done is gained incredible power! And when Rapunzel gets here, you will help me defeat her. And after Rapunzel, we’ll turn on Corona.”  
  
“I won’t help you!” He cried.  
  
She turned to him and laughed. “You can’t resist me, Varian!” She walked back over and knelt in front of his cage again, this time reaching out to roughly grab his shoulder. “You’re just my _puppet_ , now.” She said maliciously, and Varian gasped in pain and barely noticed his hair starting to glow before he blacked out again.  
  
\--  
  
He woke up in a strange place. Floating islands and sky full of…he didn’t know what he was seeing.  
  
“ ** _Hello, Varian._** ”  
  
He jolted and looked around. “Who said that?!”  
  
A giant girl appeared – or, just her floating head. “ ** _Come on, Moon Child, there’s no need to be afraid!_** ”  
  
He screamed and ran away, but was blocked by the girl appearing again, this time with a body. She was dressed in some fancy clothes. “Who are you?!”  
  
“ ** _A friend._** ” She giggled. “ ** _Or, at least, I’d like to be. You wish to escape her, don’t you, Varian?_** ”  
  
Varian wrapped his arms around himself. “I don’t know what she’d doing to my body…or making it do. I need to get away, but I don’t know how.”  
  
“ ** _The Demanitus Scroll will help you._** ” The girl assured him. “ ** _The fourth spell…_** ”  
  
“I don’t have the scroll, Cassandra does.” He pursed his lips. “And there’s no way she’ll let me have it.”  
  
“ ** _She put it in your pack, Varian._** _”_ She said in an exasperated tone. “ ** _And, once you get it, you need to use the sun to see the sun._** ”  
  
“Use the…what?” He frowned. “…Wait…” He gasped. “It must be invisible ink! If I had something to magnify the sun’s rays—”  
  
He was abruptly woken up by a sharp slap to the face. He blinked in confusion and then food was shoved in in front of him. He noticed he wasn’t in the cage anymore, but this table was new.  
  
“I needed to free up my hands and you need to eat.” He told him, starting to eat.  
  
He frowned and started to eat quietly. ‘I need to get outside somehow…even just a window. And then…maybe if I had a piece of glass…a broken vial? No, that’s not enough. It needs to magnify.’  
  
“You’re thinking about something.” Cassandra cut into his thoughts. “Stop it.”  
  
He frowned. “I’m not even allowed to _think_?”  
  
“You _thinking_ is dangerous.” She said firmly. “Therefore, if I catch you doing it again, I’ll make you black out again.” She held out her hand.  
  
He flinched away from her and nodded, going back to his food. She nodded and continued eating.  
  
Note to self: No plotting anywhere near her Moonstone. He glared at the stone sitting on her chest and aggressively chewed his food.  
  
\--  
  
“Why did you sing part of the incantation earlier?” She asked as she sharpened her sword. It was mostly part of her routine before battle, the black rocks didn’t _need_ sharpening.  
  
“If you’re talking about when you had me under your control, let me remind you that I _don’t remember_.” Varian said bitterly, sitting near her. She wouldn’t let him go any further than five feet from her and definitely not out of her sight.  
  
She flicked her wrist and he let out a yelp as the rock he was on knocked him off of it. “No more sass, or I’ll have to punish you. I don’t need your legs working, after all.”  
  
He tensed and curled up. “Cassandra, what happened to you?” He looked up at her. “Where did all this anger come from? Why do you hate Rapunzel so much?”  
  
“Oh, did you miss our little heartfelt TALK when I came to your lab? She took my mother from me as a baby and _killed_ her when she grew up. I will _never_ have a chance to try to reconnect with my mother.” She stood up, sheathed her sword, and walked over to Varian, who quickly got up off the floor at her approach. “And it’s all Rapunzel’s fault. Shouldn’t you be more understanding? Wasn’t it her fault that your father was encased in amber?”  
  
“No, that was my fault! My anger was misguided, my hate completely undeserved!” He shook his head.  
  
“Yeah? Well, I’m not the same.” She reached out and he stepped back in alarm. She laughed and lowered her hand. “Are you _scared_ of me, Varian?”  
  
“I’m afraid of what you’ll make me do if you touch me.” Varian said, stepping back again.  
  
She flicked her wrist and he gasped as a rock came up and pushed him towards Cassandra. She caught him before they collided and stroked his hair fondly. “Don’t worry, Varian. I’ll give you some kind of warning before I take control of your body, okay? A command, for instance.”  
  
“…Okay.” He nodded.  
  
She nodded and patted his shoulder before she let go of him and walked over to sit down and get back to sharpening her sword.  
  
He sighed and walked over to sit down on the rock near her again. “Is it…okay if I do a bit of alchemy?”  
  
“If you use any on me, I’ll make you pay for it. I don’t _have_ to touch you to control you, just like I don’t have to touch the black rocks to control them.” She said calmly.  
  
She didn’t know if she could actually control him from a distance or not, but he didn’t know that. He nodded and sat down to take off his bag and start taking things out. He paused and unrolled the Demanitus Scroll. “Oh, I don’t need that anymore so, you can have it.” She told him with a smirk. “I got what I wanted.”  
  
He flipped it over and moved his hand over the empty space before he went on to play with the rest of the stuff in his bag. She looked over at him to see what he was doing.  
  
“Do you even have anything to do alchemy with?” She asked with amusement when she saw him let out a groan of frustration.  
  
“ ** _Cassandra._** ”  
  
She looked at the Enchanted Girl and got up to lower the wall just enough to see outside. ‘Looks like Rapunzel is here.’ She thought, closing up the wall. “Varian, gather up your things. Now.”  
  
Varian stopped what he was doing and cleaned up his mess, putting it all in his bag. Then she walked over and took his arm, leading him to the cage. She pushed him inside and closed the bars before taking a seat on the throne to await Rapunzel.  
  
She saw Pascal first. Apparently, he decided to scout ahead. She held out a hand and the chameleon was bound in a little black cage, which she raised into the air.   
  
“Is that necessary?” Varian asked her.  
  
She ignored him and crossed one leg over the other, watching as Rapunzel came into the room. “Rapunzel.”  
  
“Thanks for opening the door.” Rapunzel said, walking over to her with Eugene behind her as faithfully as ever.  
  
“Varian, you okay, buddy?” Eugene called.  
  
“Uh…” Varian laughed a bit nervously. “Not…really? I’m in a cage!”  
  
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out!” Rapunzel assured him. “Cassandra, what are you doing?! Kidnapping Varian?! This is crossing a line you shouldn’t cross!”  
  
Cassandra laughed and held out a hand, the bars of the cage opening. “Oh, I’ve done more than that, princess.” She said, using a black rock to nudge Varian over to stand in front of her throne.  
  
“Varian, run!” Rapunzel said, letting her hair loose.  
  
Cassandra reached forward and grabbed Varian’s shoulder. “Take her down.” She ordered, gripping his shoulder tightly. The cry of pain followed by the mechanical movement of his arm as his hair glowed gave her a sick sort of satisfaction.  
  
“Varian!” Rapunzel cried, dodging a wave of black rocks. “What did you DO to him?!”  
  
“Yeah, uh, why is his hair glowing?” Eugene asked. “Or, well, just that one blue streak is.”  
  
“Take him down.” Cassandra ordered. Varian silently waved a hand and Eugene got attacked by black rocks.  
  
“Eugene!” Rapunzel cried.  
  
“Agh, no!” Eugene cried as he was trapped in a cage.  
  
Rapunzel ran to the cage and tried to tug at the bars. “Ooh! Oof!” She let out a growl and turned to Cassandra. “What are you doing to Varian?!”  
  
Cassandra laughed and slowly stood up, leaning in to whisper in the boy’s ear. “Wither.”  
  
He lowered his arms, his eyes going half-lidded as he started to sing.  
  
“ _Wither and decay.  
End this destiny.  
Break these earthly chains,  
And set the spirit free._”  
  
“NO!” Rapunzel swung her hair out to wrap it around him and tugged _hard_. Cassandra was caught completely off-guard and let out a growl as Varian was ripped from her grasp. She gasped and ran over to kneel next to him. “Varian? Varian?!”  
  
“He’s _mine_!” Cassandra snapped, walking over to them.  
  
“Cass, what’s gotten into you?!” Rapunzel cried.  
  
“The moonstone is mine by right, my destiny, my property. Varian is a piece of the Moonstone that was released when the Dark Kingdom fell. Ergo, he is _mine_.” Cassandra said, walking towards her aggressively.  
  
“Kidnapping is wrong, Cass!” Rapunzel held Varian close, looking at him with concern. “And what you’re talking about doing…he’s not property! He’s a person! You’re being just like your mother!”  
  
“Good! Maybe it’ll give me a chance to actually KNOW her in a way, since you ROBBED me of that!” She waved her hand and a black rock latched onto Varian and then pulled him away from Rapunzel and to Cassandra.   
  
“No!” Rapunzel got up quickly.  
  
Cassandra knelt and gripped Varian’s shoulder again. Like a puppet that had its strings picked up again, he slowly rose when she did, his hair and eyes glowing again. “See, Rapunzel?” She smirked at her. “He’s a piece of the Moonstone. I control the Moonstone, I control him. And you’re NOT taking it away from me!” She swung her hand and Rapunzel cried out as black rocks were fired at her in a wave.  
  
“You took my mother from me.” Cassandra gripped, gripping both of Varian’s shoulders. “Let’s see how you feel when I take something precious from you!” He leaned in to whisper to Varian, “Throw Eugene out the window.”  
  
Varian raised a hand and Eugene gasped as the cage vanished. Then he was suddenly grabbed by a black hand and forcefully slid towards the window. “Oh god! Oh god! Rapunzel!” He cried.  
  
“Eugene!” She ran after him. Eugene let out a cry as he was suddenly dropped and Rapunzel let out a horrified cry, starting to gather up her hair to throw it for him to grab.  
  
A black rock hand grabbed her hair and she cried out, jerking back. “Ow! Owowowowow! Let go, Varian! I have to save—” She looked down and saw that he’d fallen into Lance’s arms. “Eugene!” She cried with relief.  
  
“He lived.” Cassandra scowled. “Devil’s luck.”  
  
Rapunzel turned to her furiously. “Cassandra! This has gone on far enough!”  
  
“You’re right. It has.” Cassandra smirked. “Cage her.”  
  
Rapunzel gasped as black bars formed around her. “No!” She tried to pull her hair free, but the black hand held on until the bars had her completely secure. Only then did it release her hair and sink into the ground. She cried out in alarm as the cage slid over to where Cassandra was standing and let out a groan of pain as it came to a sudden stop in front of her.  
  
Cassandra moved one of her hands to grip Rapunzel’s face. “You know, I should thank you. If it wasn’t for you having him translate it, I never would have found out about Varian’s powers.”  
  
“Cass…please. This isn’t you.” Rapunzel pleaded.  
  
“Oh, like you KNOW me!” She took her hand off Varian’s shoulder and stepped back, letting him collapse like a broken doll in front of Rapunzel. “You don’t know me at all! You _never_ knew me! You just assumed a lot about me and I went along with it!”  
  
She smiled and lifted Varian into her arms. “But, hey, we had a good run, didn’t we? And if it wasn’t for you, Varian would’ve never gotten into studying about magic at all. Now you get to watch as I force our little alchemist to destroy your precious Corona!”  
  
“Cass, please!” Rapunzel cried. “Varian, wake up! Varian!”  
  
“Nnh…” He groaned softly, starting to wake up. Cassandra put him on the floor and he slowly started to come to. “Rapunzel…?”  
  
“You’ve been such a help to me, today, Varian.” Cassandra praised him. “I hope you’ll be just as helpful in the future.” She patted his shoulder and went to go sit on her throne, leaving Varian at the cage.  
  
“Rapunzel…I…” He faltered.  
  
“It’s okay,” Rapunzel smiled sadly. “It wasn’t you. She used your body like a puppet, forced you to hurt people, to do terrible things.”  
  
“And she’s going to do it again.” He wrapped his arms around himself tightly.  
  
“Hey, Varian?” Cassandra whistled for him and he reluctantly walked over to join her. “What do you say we break a mutual friend out of prison, hm?” She stroked his cheek.  
  
He tensed. “Please…he wants me _dead_.”  
  
“Well, he’ll have to deal with me if he tries. You’re not allowed to die.” She placed her hand against his chest.  
  
Varian glanced to the side. “…Because I’m part of the Moonstone.”  
  
“That’s right.” Cassandra nodded.  
  
Varian sighed sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, good thing Lance was down there getting lost!


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra forces Varian to free the Saporians from prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

After forcefully pushing the rest of Varian’s rescue party out, Cassandra shut out anyone that would attempt to rescue Rapunzel and left her in the tower. Her cage had been upgraded to a room in a cage, with a bed, and there was a chamber pot for if she needed to use it. She watched bitterly as Cassandra had herself and Varian put on cloaks and then they used the black rocks to leave through the window.  
  
Cassandra held Varian in a tight grip as they used the black rocks to travel through the woods to the city. It would likely be on high alert, but with the Moonstone and Varian, Cassandra knew they didn’t stand a chance.   
  
The problem was that Varian was being difficult, forcing her to practically drag him along with her. “Do you want me to _force_ you to obey?” She hissed when they stopped for a break.  
  
“You may as well, I can’t even _use_ powers on my own.” Varian said bitterly.  
  
“We’re saving your powers for the return trip and the breakout.” She gripped his arm tightly. “If you don’t obey, I’ll let Andrew have a little _fun_ with you. As I said before, I don’t need your legs working. Or your tongue, I can do the chanting myself.”  
  
He paled and nodded, his shoulders slumping. Cassandra nodded and pulled him along, summoning a black rock to ride on to the capital.  
  
\--  
  
When they arrived at the bridge, she grabbed his shoulder and leaned in to whisper. “When we get across, destroy the bridge. We can use your powers to get back over.”  
  
Varian mechanically obeyed, his eyes and hair glowing again. They moved across the bridge and, once across, he waved his hand and the bridge was destroyed by black rocks. Cassandra laughed with delight and then led him along to the castle. “Take down anyone that tries to stop us.” She hissed.  
  
“Varian! You’re okay! Where’s the princess?” One of the guards asked with concern.  
  
“Uh…you okay?” The other one asked nervously.  
  
“Take them down.” Cassandra hissed.  
  
A single tear slipped down Varian’s cheek as he silently obeyed. She frowned, seeing it. ‘Is he still conscious?’ She thought, moving past the terrified guards encased in black rock cages. ‘That’s new.’  
  
They made their way to the dungeon. As soon as they arrived and the guards were either trapped by black rocks or knocked unconscious, she let go of Varian’s shoulders.  
  
He let out a woozy groan and leaned against the closest wall. “…That…was horrible.” He breathed.  
  
“So, you _were_ conscious for it?” She asked.  
  
“I…I tried so hard to keep myself awake…now I wish I hadn’t.” He hugged himself tightly.  
  
“We’re not done yet, don’t break down on me.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him along.  
  
He forced himself to not cry and pushed away from the water, silently following her to the cells with the Saporians.  
  
“Well, well, well.” Andrew stepped out of the shadows. “If it isn’t my _two favorite people_. What can I do for you, Cass? Gotta say, I like the new look.”  
  
“Bet you’ll like Varian’s, too.” She gripped his shoulder and Varian gasped sharply as she gave him the command to force him back into his own mind. “Break their doors.”  
  
Andrew stepped back and watched with interest as Varian held out a hand and manipulated the black rocks into latching onto the iron bars and yanking HARD. With a loud crunching sound, the doors were ripped off and fell to the floor as the black rocks sank back into the floor.  
  
Andrew stepped closer and chuckled, reaching out to stroke Varian’s cheek. “Yeah. I think I do.”  
  
“Get us out of here, Varian.” Cassandra ordered as they heard guards running to investigate the sounds.  
  
Varian held out his hands and the ground they were on was covered with black rocks. Then more black rocks smashed a hole into the wall and walls came up to keep them in as the ground they were on lifted up and extended through the damaged wall and all the way across what used to be the bridge. Once on the other side, she said “Drop the rocks!” and Varian complied, the rocks sliding back at a rapid pace to where they started, where they most likely vanished into the ground.  
  
“Oh, Cass. I could kiss you.” Andrew grinned.  
  
“Well, then do it.” Cassandra smiled and let go of Varian to move closer to him.  
  
Varian groaned as he hit the ground and decided to just let himself fall unconscious.  
  
She didn’t need him awake to use his body’s powers, anyway.  
  
\--  
  
“I can’t do it.” Varian buried his face in his knees. He was once again on that floating island, in the strange space. “I can’t even _begin_ to get a chance to uncover the final incantation for Rapunzel. I don’t have a magnifying glass, she never leaves me alone, and I’m never allowed outside unless I’m being dragged to my next place of destruction!”  
  
“ ** _So, that’s it? You’re just going to give up?_** ” The girl said, sitting next to him. “ ** _You seem to be doing well to me. You managed to stay conscious, perhaps you can fight it._** ”  
  
He shook his head. “I tried…and I don’t want to be awake for that again!”  
  
“ ** _Then, you are perfectly fine with her using your body as she wishes? She could force you to hurt someone you love._** ” She reminded him. “ ** _Your father, for instance?_** ”  
  
He tensed and raised his head. “…I don’t want that.”  
  
“ ** _Then, you must fight her and uncover the final spell._** ” The girl placed her hand on his shoulder. “ ** _For Rapunzel’s sake, as well. Once you know it, she can blow away the black rocks with ease._** ”  
  
Varian sighed and nodded. “I’m just…not sure how to start.”  
  
“ ** _The princess has something you can use for a magnifier. And there is a window. She said you can have the scroll, so it is yours to do with as you please._** ” The girl reminded him.  
  
“…Right.” Varian nodded. “I just need to get permission to sit by the window for long enough to—”  
  
He was suddenly woken up again, and he resisted the urge to groan “oh, come on” as he blinked away sleep and looked around to see where he was.  
  
Back in the tower, apparently. Cassandra was looking over something on a table with the Saporians. Wait…then, who woke him?  
  
“Rise and shine, Varian.” Andrew said, turning his head to look at him. “You went and passed out on us; good thing Cass’s little puppeteering trick didn’t need you awake to activate it.” He laughed and got up, stepping away from where Varian had been lying to rejoin them at the table.  
  
“Did you wake him up?” Cassandra asked with amusement.  
  
“His snoring was distracting.” Andrew shrugged.  
  
“You could barely hear it. You just wanted to be mean.” Cassandra rolled her eyes.  
  
Varian groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. “Hey, uh…Cass?”  
  
She looked over. “Yes, Varian?”  
  
“Uhm…” He looked over at Rapunzel. “Can I…?”  
  
“Go ahead, just don’t let her out. Oh, wait. You can’t!” She laughed.  
  
Varian bit his lip and got up to walk over to Rapunzel.  
  
“Varian, are you okay?” She asked, going to the bars of her cage.  
  
“I’m okay.” He nodded. “Sort of. Not really. Um, I was wondering, do you have any kind of…I need something that can magnify the sun’s rays for the…” He looked over at Cass, then spoke quieter. “The scroll. Maybe a prism or…”  
  
“No, I…wait.” Rapunzel paused. “…I _do_ have something.” She reached into her bag and opened an ornate-looking box. She took out a ring and handed it over. “Don’t lose it. I’m going to give it to Eugene.”  
  
He nodded and accepted it, slipping it into his pocket. “So…uhm…you okay?”  
  
“As okay as I can be, stuck in a tower.” Rapunzel sighed.  
  
“Yeah…me too.” He nodded and hugged himself. “I’m gonna…go now, okay?”  
  
She nodded. He walked away from the cage and sat down on a rock close to the table but not at it. If they wanted him there, they’d force him to be there.  
  
‘Asking to sit by the window right after I visit Rapunzel could be seen as suspicious.’ He thought. ‘I’ll have to wait for another day.’ He glanced at Cassandra and the Saporians.  
  
“Varian,” Cassandra called, and he got up and walked over to join her, “what did you and Rapunzel talk about?”  
  
“Her being stuck in a tower again and me being a living puppet.” He said with a sigh.  
  
Andrew laughed and reached out to rub his head condescendingly. “Hey, it could be worse. You could be locked in a cage when we’re not using you.” He reminded him.  
  
“Andrew’s right, I’m actually being very nice to you.” Cassandra smirked and cupped his chin in her hands. “What do you say?”  
  
“...Thank you.” Varian said, guessing that was what she wanted. She let go of him and patted his cheek.  
  
“Good boy. You can go play with your alchemy now, just stay within view of us.” She looked back at the Saporians.  
  
Varian sighed and walked off a bit before sitting down and taking off his bag. An idea came to him and he looked at her. “Cassandra?”  
  
“Yes, Varian?” She looked over at him.  
  
“It’s kind of dark in here. Can I go do this by the window?” He asked.  
  
“Why?” She raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Why…not?” He shrugged. “I can’t control my powers, what am I gonna do, fall?”  
  
“Hm…” She looked thoughtful. “You know, you just might to get out of this. No.”  
  
Varian sighed and looked back at his bag. ‘Okay, so that’s not an option, then.’ He thought. ‘Does she really think I’m suicidal?’  
  
“Good call.” Andrew told her. “When we were in prison, he was thiiiis close to killing himself at one point. The grief about his dad and the shame and rage about his loss ate him up so bad he refused food until a guard force-fed him.”  
  
Varian tensed. He didn’t like to think about that dark part of his life.  
  
“And now he’s someone’s puppet, doomed to serve the Moonstone until he dies? Yeah, he was probably thinking of jumping.” Andrew finished.  
  
“Hm…” Cassandra frowned thoughtfully.  
  
Well, if she didn’t think so before, thanks to Andrew, she did _now_! He glared at the man, who just smirked smugly at him.   
  
“Varian!”  
  
He jolted and looked towards the window. Was that…his dad?!  
  
“Varian, are you in there?!”  
  
“Tch.” Cassandra got up and walked over to Varian. “This is going to get annoying. You’re going to go out, you’re going to tell him that you’re perfectly fine and happy here with me, and then you’re going to come back in. If you don’t obey, I will kill him.” She said firmly, holding out a hand to open the door to the stairs. “Now, go.”  
  
Varian nodded, running out of the room. Cassandra walked to the window to watch as he went outside to his father.  
  
\--  
  
“Dad!” Varian cried, running out to him.  
  
Quirin got off his horse and knelt to catch his son in his arms. “Varian, my poor boy, what has she done to you?!”  
  
He wanted to tell him everything. Everything she’d told him, everything she’d said, but a look up told him that Cassandra was watching him closely. If his father had any idea that something was amiss, that he wasn’t perfectly happy here, then she’d kill him.  
  
Or worse, make Varian do it.  
  
“Nothing, I’m fine.” He assured him. “I mean, a bit beat up from being brought in, but—”  
  
“Varian, I know about your powers.” He said grimly.  
  
Varian froze mid-speech. “I…how?”  
  
“How? Varian, she took you into the capital and forced you to attack people, to destroy the bridge! _Everyone_ knows about your powers!” Quirin gently gripped his shoulders. “We’re going home. I’m taking you to safety.”  
  
“No, she’ll destroy Old Corona if you do that!” Varian blurted out.  
  
“Not Old Corona.” Quirin sighed. “I’m originally from the Dark Kingdom, where the Moonstone is from. We’ll go there.”  
  
“No, dad, I can’t leave.” He shook his head. “As long as Cassandra has the Moonstone—"  
  
“Ookay, he’s not listening. We tried to play it nice, but it looks like we’re going to have to get mean.”  
  
Varian paled and looked over at Andrew and the Saporians coming outside. Cassandra used the black rocks to lower herself to the ground and Varian clung to his father fearfully.  
  
“Let go of him, Varian.” Cassandra said calmly. “Unless you want him to get hurt.”  
  
Quirin pulled out a sword and brandished it. “You’re not taking my son from me!”  
  
“Oh, you poor man. I already have.” Cassandra moved a hand to the Moonstone and Varian gasped as the pain struck again. He barely heard his father asking him what was wrong before he pushed him away and walked over to Cassandra. He wished he wasn’t awake. He didn’t want to see this. Why didn’t he pass out like usual?  
  
“Last chance to leave before you get killed by your own son.” Cassandra said coldly, moving over to Varian and gripping his shoulder tightly, making Varian’s eyes and hair glow. Ah…there it was. He could feel his consciousness slipping and now he was fighting to stay awake so he found out what happened.  
  
Quirin clenched his fists, then got on his horse and reluctantly left, and then Varian was herded back inside, the doors closing behind him.  
  
“I gave you a simple order.” Cassandra said, snapping him out of his trance with a smack to the face. Huh. That was…interesting to know. Was it just her, or would anyone do to smack him out of it? “Are you listening, Varian?”  
  
He gasped and stammered a bit. “I-I’m sorry! I tried, really! He didn’t listen, and then he talked about taking me away and I just…it blurted out, I was panicking!”  
  
Cassandra pointed to the cage and Varian miserably walked over to sit down in his little cage by the throne. A snap of the fingers closed the bars on him and he curled up with a glum expression on his face.  
  
It seemed that every chance he had at escape was sabotaged in one way or another. He had the ring, but he couldn’t get to the window to use the sun to see the sun spell. Andrew had fully convinced Cassandra that he was likely to kill himself if he got the chance. And now he was locked in the cage again because he failed to convince his father to leave.  
  
A tear slipped down his cheek, then another, and then he hiccupped and let out pitiful wails into his knees. He didn’t care if anyone heard, he was _hurting_ and he needed to get it out somehow!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quirin hates it, but staying would do more harm than good.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an attempt to break Varian's will has the opposite effect, Cassandra gives Varian to Andrew to break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

He must’ve cried himself to sleep because, when he next opened his eyes, he didn’t see them all. Cassandra was on her throne, sharpening her sword, but the Saporians had vanished. He looked up at her and she glanced at him before putting her sword down. “Andrew and the others went to contact more of their people. We’re going to storm Corona Capital and take down the King and Queen.” She explained casually. “After they’ve been dragged out, as well as everyone else in town, we’ll have you use your black rocks to destroy it from below.”  
  
“You mean _you’ll_ use _me_ to do that?” Varian asked bitterly.  
  
“Well, since it’s the only way you can use your powers, yes.” She smirked. “But, to the people of Corona, it was _you_ and it _will_ be _you_.”  
  
He curled up tighter. “Why do you hate me so much?”  
  
“This was Andrew’s idea, actually. Though, I did enjoy seeing you turn on people that trusted you when we broke them out.” She reached into his cage and rubbed his head. “Don’t worry, the guilt will go away in time.” She moved her hand away from him and went back to her sharpening.  
  
“Don’t think I’m like _you_.” He said bitterly. “Just because _you_ decided to betray your friends and the man that raised you because of a mother you didn’t even _remember_ , it doesn’t mean you can make me turn on my family and friends and have me not feel guilty about it.” He looked up at her. “You may have my body captured, but my mind is still my own.”  
  
“For now.” She said, getting up. “I’ll find a way to control your mind, too.” She walked over to where Andrew was coming in, passing by Rapunzel on the way.  
  
Rapunzel glared at her and then looked at Varian, smiling encouragingly. Pascal also gave a weary thumbs-up from his own cage.  
  
A fine group, they were.  
  
\--  
  
“Where are we going?” Varian asked as he was taken, blindfolded, on horseback somewhere. He could heard Rapunzel struggling with her own bonds and blindfold. It sounded like she’d been gagged, too.  
  
“Don’t worry, kid.” Andrew said from somewhere to his side. “You’ll find out soon.”  
  
The horses stopped and Cassandra got down from behind him and pulled him down. Then she took off Varian’s blindfold and Varian blinked as moonlight hit his eyes. He looked to the side and saw Rapunzel in front of Andrew, looking around with growing horror. He looked forward and realized what he was looking at.  
  
Old Corona.  
  
Looking at the position of the moon, everyone would be asleep in their beds right now. Which meant that, if they attacked, no one would survive. Varian’s eyes widened as he realized why he was here. They wanted to force him to hurt the people he loved.  
  
“No!” He looked at Cassandra. “No, don’t make me do this!”  
  
“It’s time we removed all your weaknesses, Varian.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and walked him closer to the front of town. Everyone else hung back to watch the show. “Now…” She gripped his shoulders tightly. “Destroy Old Corona.”  
  
His eyes and streak started to glow at her command and he felt his body moving mechanically to obey.  
  
No…  
  
A black rock jutted out of the ground, followed by another.  
  
No.  
  
More appeared, moving in a trail to the closest house. Cassandra wanted to play with them, give them a chance to see it and futilely run. Varian knew, though, no one would be awake at this time. He knew their schedules like the back of his hand.  
  
NO.  
  
His glow started to flicker and Cassandra frowned, holding on tighter.  
  
NO!  
  
He let out a scream and jerked away from her, holding his head. “Varian!” She grabbed his shoulder tightly. “I gave you an order!”  
  
Varian turned to her with a furious look in his glowing eyes and reached out quickly, his hand gripping the Moonstone on her body. The stone shocked him violently and he screamed, no doubt waking his neighbors and his father. He held on tighter, focusing, trying to take the stone from her.  
  
If he could only take the Moonstone from her, he’d be free!  
  
He felt a hand wrap around his mouth from behind and a hard smack to his head knocked him out. He fell to the ground limply at Cassandra’s feet.  
  
\--  
  
Andrew stepped back from where he’d dropped Varian to the ground. “Little brat.”  
  
“He was…” Cassandra panted heavily and moved her hand to the Moonstone. Good. Still secure. “Let’s go back to the tower.” She reached out and lowered the rocks before getting back on her horse with Varian limply sitting in front of her. She cuffed his hands for good measure and gripped his shoulder to keep him from falling off as she led the way home.  
  
She saw lights come on in Varian’s home and rode faster, the Saporians keeping up.  
  
When they got back, Rapunzel was pushed back into her cage and her binds removed and Varian was shoved into his, still cuffed.  
  
“Looks like we can’t do _that_ , then.” Andrew mused as they sat at the table, looking at Varian lying unconscious in the cage.  
  
“Can you break him?” She asked, clenching her fists.  
  
“We have a few methods in Saporia that might do the trick.” Andrew nodded. “We’ll need a private room for this.”  
  
Cassandra held up her hand and a square room rose out of the tower floor. “This work?”  
  
Andrew nodded. “Let me have the kid for a week or so. I’ll break him for you.”  
  
She opened Varian’s cage and Andrew went to take him out and into the room.  
  
“What are you going to do to him?!” Rapunzel cried, clinging to the bars of her cage.  
  
Cassandra walked over to Rapunzel. “Don’t worry, princess. We’re just removing the pain, that’s all.”  
  
“Cass…” Rapunzel bit her lip. “Whatever your hate for me, don’t hurt Varian for your grudge! He’s just a kid, Cass!”  
  
“He’s the Moonstone.” She smirked. “Just like you’re just the Sundrop. Hey, maybe we can figure out how to restore your healing powers.”  
  
Rapunzel glared at her and went to sulk on her bed.  
  
\--  
  
Varian stared dully ahead of him, somewhere between asleep and awake, as he was stripped and tied to chains hanging from the ceiling. “Cass really spoiled us with this torture chamber.” He heard Andrew saying. “Get the drink.”  
  
He felt hands on him and glanced towards that direction. “You’re so scrawny. I mean, I thought so before, but look at you. And you’re so tiny, too. Were you malnourished as a child? Or just in general?”  
  
He let out an indifferent huff. It wasn’t his father’s fault that he skipped meals while working on one of his projects. Andrew should remember how many times he had to stop him from working to eat.  
  
“No words for me? Hm?”  
  
He closed his eyes, choosing to ignore the man. A sharp slap startled them into opening again. “Don’t. Ignore. Me.” Andrew said, glaring at him only a few inches from his face. Then he gripped Varian’s face in his large hand and forced him to open his mouth. Varian tried to resist, but a sweet-smelling liquid was poured down his throat and his mouth was forcibly closed so he’d swallow.  
  
“This little drug,” Andrew chuckled. “screws up the pain and pleasure receptors so that they react as if the other is happening. So, if I do THIS,” He struck Varian across the face and he let out a soft moan. “Yeah, you’ll like it. But…this?” He moved his hand to rub Varian’s shoulder and he let out a scream like he was being stabbed. “Pain time, baby. Let’s see how long you can handle this before your mind snaps like a string too tightly wound.”  
  
Varian laughed a bit. “You think _this_ will break me? You don’t know me at all, then.”  
  
“Mmm, I suppose it wouldn’t, no.” Andrew walked over and picked up a green bottle. “But, combined with _this_?” He walked over and forced Varian’s mouth open so he could dump in the contents before he forced it shut to make him swallow. “Hallucinations. All those painful nightmares you’ve had? All those wonderful good days? Well…now you’re laughing at daddy being engulfed by the amber, and screaming in pain about eating cake.”  
  
“W-what?” Varian shook his head. “Y-You’re…you’re bluffing.”  
  
“Am I?” Andrew asked, but his voice was being lost in the sound of a snowstorm.  
  
\--  
  
Andrew stepped out of the room and approached Cassandra. “He’s going through his first treatment right now. We’ll see how well he takes this.”  
  
“Just make sure his powers aren’t affected. That’s all I need from him.” Cassandra said calmly.  
  
“Of course. By the end of the week, he’ll be sufficiently broken down and…possibly sadistic.” Andrew chuckled. “I’ll destroy him.”  
  
\--  
  
Varian was being hit by hallucination after hallucination. His knowledge of the current world outside his head was completely gone, and he wasn’t even aware that his arms were growing sore from being hung by them.  
  
Juniper poked at him curiously and he let out a whimper of pain. Huh, so normally that must tickle. He really was tiny, though. When she first saw him, she thought he must’ve been twelve years old, not halfway to sixteen.  
  
“Hhn…ghh…” She looked up in alarm as his eyes and streak flickered on and off. Was that a concern? Should she mention it to someone? She decided it might be a good idea and headed for the door, but a black rock shot up and blocked her way.  
  
“…Shit.” She hissed.  
  
The rock slowly lowered and she bolted from the room before it could block her way again. “Andrew! He’s doing some weird stuff!”  
  
“What ‘weird stuff’?” Andrew asked as he and Cassandra went in.  
  
The room was full of black rocks coming out and retracting all over the room. Varian’s eyes and streak were glowing and tears were slipping down his cheeks as he laughed manically.  
  
“… _That_ weird stuff.” Juniper said, quickly leaving the room.  
  
“Ooookay.” Cassandra used her powers to make the black rocks shrink down and then she shattered the chains binding him so she could take him down. “Let’s get some clothes on you, huh?”  
  
“Not even a day. Wow.” Andrew let out a low whistle.  
  
“Mom’s gone…hahahaha…mom’s gone…she left me…mom’s gone…hahahahahahaha! Mom’s gone, dad’s in amber, people don’t keep their promises and I’m going to prison! The townspeople hate me, because I’m a bad kid! I’m all alone! I’m all alone!” He laughed harder, his powers going on haywire now. “All alone!”  
  
Cassandra frowned and placed her hand on Varian’s chest and focused, reaching for that moon energy inside of him.  
  
“Moonstone…Moonstone…Sundrop, Moonstone, it’s not alchemy, what does it have to do with me? I’m not part of the Moonstone. I’m just a kid. Hahaha. I’m just a kid. Hahaha. I’m just a kid. Hahaha. I’m just a kid.” He started to sob, the drug finally wearing off. Andrew decided he probably didn’t need to give him more. “It was just a little mistake…it was just a little mistake…it was just a little mistake…little mistake…little mistake…Dad…”  
  
Cassandra sighed and looked at him as the glow faded with his passing out. “Okay…so…the stability of his powers is connected to his mental state.”  
  
Andrew let out a sigh. “Well…” He walked over and picked up Varian’s clothes to dress him again. “We’ll see how he feels when he wakes up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, too much!


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being tortured with his own body and mind, Varian isn't in a good mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney
> 
> (WARNING: A teenager's angsty potty-mouth.))

Varian was quiet when he woke up and hadn’t said anything to anyone for over half the day. Cassandra had put him back in his cage but left his hands uncuffed. “So…” She decided to start, “You’ve never mentioned your mother.”  
  
“Fuck. Off.” He said coldly.  
  
“Where’d you hear that?” She asked in surprise.  
  
“You hear lots of things in prison a kid shouldn’t hear.” He didn’t look at her.  
  
She let a breath and reached in to rub his head. “Okay, I get it. You’re bitter.”  
  
He grabbed her hand and she flinched as black rocks started to creep up her arm. She pulled it out and made the rocks disappear. “So…you can use your powers now?”  
  
“No.” He still didn’t look at her.  
  
‘Okay, then.’ She walked over and knelt in front of him, forcing him to look at her. He stared at her with a look of hatred and looked away, hugging himself tightly. “Wow, who knew all it took was some isolation and hallucinations to get you to hate me?” She joked.  
  
“Fuck. Off.” He repeated.  
  
“Okay, no.” Cassandra moved her hand to the Moonstone and he gasped sharply. “You’re not going to get away with talking to me like that. No matter how you feel about me now, the fact is that you are _mine_. And if you don’t apologize for your behavior, I will make you hurt, is that clear?”  
  
“Do you want that with me on my _knees_ or will just the words suffice?” He spat.  
  
‘Great, I unlocked his teenage angst mode.’ She thought with a roll of her eyes. “Words are fine.”  
  
“Fine. I’m sorry for being so rude.” He looked to the side. “Are you still going to make me kill people?”  
  
“Corona will still fall. If you cooperate, then Old Corona will live.” She confirmed.  
  
“Fine. Just leave my dad alone.” He curled up tighter.  
  
“Alright.” She got up and sat in the throne again. “So, what happened to your mom?”  
  
“Leave him alone, Cass!” Rapunzel said firmly. “Varian, you don’t have to tell her anything you don’t—”  
  
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Varian snapped. “I’m so tired of hearing your voices!” He covered his ears.  
  
“Phew, look at this moody kid.” Andrew walked over and leaned on the cage. Varian shrank back from him. “Are you being rude to these ladies, Varian? Hm? What have I told you about how to treat ladies?”  
  
“Leave me alone.” Varian buried his face in his knees.  
  
“Varian.” Andrew reached in and grabbed the back of Varian’s neck. He froze, his eyes shaking. “What. Did. I. Say?”  
  
“…Sorry.” He glanced away.  
  
Andrew pulled his hand out. “Teenagers, you gotta know how to talk to them. I’ve been around enough teenage boys, they only respect violence.” He turned to them. “He’s still coming out of the hallucinations, babe. He’s going to be pretty bitter about you two because he’s been forced to laugh and find joy in all the bad things you did to him.” He shrugged.  
  
Varian glared out at them and moved his gloved hands over the back of his neck protectively.   
  
“…Right.” Rapunzel nodded. “I’m sorry, Varian.”  
  
“Just leave me alone.” He growled.  
  
“Are you hungry?” Andrew asked him.  
  
“I’ll leave him to you, then.” Cassandra got up and walked over to get Rapunzel and Pascal food.  
  
“You could put Pascal in here with me, you know.” Rapunzel suggested. “Save a trip.”  
  
“You’re being very calm for being stuck in a tower.” Cassandra remarked, handing her food.  
  
“I’ve started to adjust to it.” Rapunzel sighed. “I was locked in a tower for 18 years, and this is one that I can’t escape no matter what.” She tugged on a bar of her cage.  
  
“Hm…oh, whatever.” Cassandra walked over and picked up the cage with Pascal and brought to Rapunzel’s cage. The cage opened to let Pascal in and then it merged with Rapunzel’s cage. “Here, have your pet.”  
  
Rapunzel held Pascal close and retreated to her bed with their food.  
  
\--  
  
That night, Andrew took Varian out of the cage to stay with him for the night. The next morning, he was in a bit of a better mood, which Rapunzel was grateful for. She did not enjoy the sight of her friend saying such terrible words. Cass had to admit, she was glad to see him being nice again, too.  
  
“Can I sit at the window?” Varian asked. “I promise I won’t jump out to my death.”  
  
“Hm…I can stop you if you do start to. Alright.” Cassandra nodded.  
  
Varian took his bag and headed over to sit down and looked out at the sunlight. “So…what’d you do to get him to calm down?” Cassandra asked Andrew curiously.  
  
“That’s a secret between us.” Andrew grinned. “Wouldn’t want to betray his confidence when he's in such a good mood.”  
  
Varian reached into his pocket and pulled something out before he leaned over the scroll. Cassandra looked over curiously and considered investigating.  
  
Wait. Hadn’t he mentioned there being a fourth spell that was supposedly on the scroll? She frowned and got up, walking over to him. “Hey, Varian?” She greeted, whistling to get his attention.”  
  
He looked up at her. “Hi, Cass.” He greeted.  
  
“What’cha doing?” She knelt next to him.  
  
“Alchemy.” He replied. “I figured that if there was a fourth spell on this thing, it had to be invisible ink, so I’m uncovering it.”  
  
She raised an eyebrow, “Did Andrew slip you a truth serum?”  
  
“No, I just don’t see any point in _lying_ when you can see what I’m doing.” He looked up at her. “Hey, question. Have you been talking to a blue girl in fancy clothes?”  
  
She blinked in surprise. “Have _you_?”  
  
“I keep dreaming about her. She told me about how to find the fourth spell.” Varian shrugged and went back to work.  
  
“And once you do? What will you do with it?” Cassandra asked.  
  
“Translate it, I guess.” He replied. “Then I go on to the next project, satisfied that I translated the whole scroll.”  
  
She placed her hand on his shoulder. “And you weren’t planning to give it to Rapunzel?”  
  
“I don’t even know what it will do. For all I know, it could kill anyone connected to the Moonstone. As in, myself. Contrary to what you seem to think, I’m not suicidal.” He readjusted his posture a bit and went back to work.  
  
“Good. Because if I go down, so do you.” She stood up and walked back to Andrew.  
  
Varian looked over at them, then went back to his work again.  
  
\--  
  
Varian glanced at Cassandra as he kept revealing the final spell for Rapunzel. Cassandra was kind of an idiot when she thought the world was at her fingertips. Then again, so was he. It was something they had in common. Maybe that’s what attracted Andrew. Two stupid, naïve idiots that think they have the power when they’re just his rage-filled puppets. He shifted his position again and sighed, looking over at Andrew.   
  
What would Cass think if he knew of what they did last night? Varian still wasn’t sure what to make of it, but at least he was less…tense after it happened. He never wanted to take that twisted drug again, so he’d play nice and plot the demise of Cassandra’s iron fist without their knowing. Hide nothing, make them think you’ve completely given in, but plan behind the scenes for a different outcome than they want.  
  
That’s what Andrew taught him to do. That’s what he learned during his time as a Separatist of Saporia, which he had no claim to. Hell, he wasn’t even from Corona, his parents were both refugees of the Dark Kingdom.  
  
He licked his lips, slightly bruised, - though Cassandra didn’t notice it when she was next to him - and continued his work. He was starting to see words now, not just letters. His mind translated it as he uncovered word after word. ‘Power…of…the…Sun. Gift…me…with…your…light. Shine…into…the…dark. Restore…our…fading…sight.’  
  
He sighed, taking a short break. He needed the other half, though. He had to take advantage of his time here at the window as much as he could. His life depended on it.  
  
“That’s a pretty ring.”  
  
He gasped and looked up to see Andrew had snuck up on him – again. He sighed and went back to his work. “It’s Rapunzel’s, she lent it to me for me to figure out this scroll.”  
  
“Hm…” Andrew knelt next to him and took the ring, playfully nudging him before slipping it on his small ring finger. “Hah, you’re too tiny for this. It’s definitely not sized for you.”  
  
Varian took it off and went back to what he was doing. “Are you just over here to pick on me, or did you have a reason?”  
  
“Just checking up on you. Cassandra’s concerned about you learning this spell.” Andrew draped an arm over his shoulder. “You look like you could use a break.”  
  
“Nope, I could use some time alone, though.” He nudged him, but kept on his task. ‘Rise…into…the…dawn, blazing…star…so…bright.’ He glanced at him. “I want to return her ring soon, so can you let me be, please?”  
  
Andrew shrugged and got up. “Just know that if you do anything troublesome, you’ll get in big trouble. Might not be as nice as I was last night.”  
  
Varian glanced at the sky, gauging how much longer he had, and went back to work. ‘Burn…away…the…strife.’ He licked his lips. ‘Let…our…hope…ignite. Let…hope…ignite.’  
  
He rolled up the scroll and headed over to the cage to return Rapunzel’s ring. “Thanks, it was a big help.”  
  
She nodded. “I want to give it to Eugene when we get out of here. I miss him.”  
  
“’If’, you mean.” Varian sighed. “I have no idea why she’s keeping you here. To gloat? To keep you out of the way?”  
  
“It’s not like I can do anything, I can’t even heal and I suspect if I try any moon spells, she’ll shut me down.” Rapunzel sighed.  
  
Varian nodded, then reached out to take her hand, speaking quieter. “Rapunzel, I’m going to give it to you in pieces. Try to remember it.”  
  
She squeezed his hand to show she understood.  
  
“Power.” He whispered.  
  
“Look at you two, getting all chummy. Looks like you really _have_ recovered from your hallucinations.” Cassandra walked over to them.  
  
“Yeah.” Varian nodded, letting go of Rapunzel’s hand.  
  
“Since you’re in a better mood, I want you to come with me. We’re going to set up a wall around this place that can’t be scaled, I’ve seen Eugene and his group lurking around outside.” She took his hand and led him away to the window with her. “When you were angry, you managed to use the moon powers on your own.” She gripped his shoulders tightly. “So, we’re going to see if you can use it if I inflict just a bit of pain.”  
  
He winced, and looked out at the outside world. He wasn’t even sure how he managed it yesterday, but Cassandra wanted a repeat performance. He closed his eyes and grabbed her hands with his, focusing.  
  
It was weird. Despite everything, when he wasn’t under the influence of the hallucinations, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her, to be as angry. He let go of her hands and sighed. “I…I don’t know what to do. I’m not as full of anger this time.”  
  
“Well, we’ll figure it out. For now,” She focused and he let out a sharp gasp as the now-familiar pain shot through him and then his hair and eyes started to glow. He then raised his hands at her command, black rocks rising with them to create a tall, unscalable wall around the clearing.  
  
When they were finished, she left his side and walked back over to plot with the Saporians. He looked down at the ground silently and then turned to go back in, halting when his face bumped into Andrew’s fur vest. “Can you—stop—sneaking up on me?!” He hissed, moving around him. “I could’ve fallen back!”  
  
“And I would’ve caught you.” Andrew assured him.  
  
He stopped and looked at him. “What happened to ‘traitors don’t live in Saporia’?”  
  
“Oh, Varian.” Andrew chuckled. “your status changed when you went from being ‘the alchemist kid that betrayed us’ to ‘the missing part of the Moonstone’. You know that.” He patted his shoulder and walked over to the table with the others.  
  
“…Right.” He looked to the side. ‘And I bet you really don’t want to let your girlfriend to know that you were messing with her property. Granted, _I_ don’t want her to know that, _either_ …’ He thought, walking over to sit on his rock by the table in case Cassandra wanted him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andrew has quite the effect on Varian!


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the day of the attack on Corona creeps closer, Cassandra focused on restoring Rapunzel's healing and trying to get Varian to use his powers on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

The days crept by, and every day Varian gave Rapunzel one word of the incantation to avoid suspicion, mixed in with their general chitchat. Whether this would actually work was entirely up to her, because Varian was doing his part and the attack on Corona was coming quickly.  
  
He gained permission to talk with her again and walked over to sit in front of the cage, Rapunzel sitting on her side.  
  
“You doing okay?” He asked.  
  
“Mm...yeah.” She nodded. “At least _I’m_ not being used for my hair.”  
  
“Cassandra wants me to figure out how to unlock your sun powers.” He sighed, leaning back on his hands. “Apparently, the moon magic cancelled it out, like a solar eclipse.”  
  
“Do you think we can?” She asked.  
  
“Hope.” He looked at her pointedly.  
  
She nodded, committing the word to memory. They were so close to the end of it, but the Saporians were talking about storming as soon as tomorrow. Luckily, they only had one more word.  
  
Cassandra came over and sat with them. “What are you two talking about?”  
  
“Unlocking my sun powers.” Rapunzel replied.  
  
“Yeah?” Cassandra raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Have you figured that out?”  
  
“Not yet.” Varian shook his head. “I’m still figuring out my _own_ powers.”  
  
“Well, we’ll figure it out.” Cassandra assured them. “Varian, come with me.”  
  
He got up when she did and followed her. She led him to the side and gently gripped his shoulder. “Alright, I’m going to give you a bit of a boost, but not take over your body, alright? I want you to summon a black rock.”  
  
He nodded and held out a hand. She focused and his eyes and hair started to glow, but still somehow retained autonomy.  
  
This was a test. It had to be. She was testing to see if he’d attack her again, after he violently tried to rip the Moonstone from her at Old Corona. He focused and a black rock slowly rose out of the floor. Then she moved her hand off and he kept focusing, the black rock rising higher and higher. Then he groaned and it sank back down.  
  
“It’s progress.” She passed his back.  
  
“I only have a piece of it.” He sighed, tugging at his blue streak. Unlike Rapunzel’s hair, which was completely changed, he was only born with a blue streak. Now he knew why he had it, and why there was only one blue streak that couldn’t be dyed any other color.  
  
Because Heaven knows he tried.  
  
“It’s a vital piece I need, though, so figure it out. I need you to be able to fight on your own so we can team up.” She nudged him good-naturedly.  
  
Varian wasn’t sure which freaked him out more, Cassandra and Andrew beating him bloody or Cassandra and Andrew acting like he’s their best friend (and more, in Andrew’s case). No…not best friend. Property. He was their property, and they treated him like it. They were nice as long as he complied but, if he didn’t, then he’d be chained and dragged along and forced to obey.  
  
Sometimes he was tempted to tell Cassandra about what her boyfriend got up to with Varian in the dark of the night, but then he’d feel ashamed about it and decide to keep it to himself.  
  
It was one of those “it felt good the first time, but now I’m starting to realize this was a mistake” situation.  
  
And Andrew of Soporia didn’t like to take “no” for an answer, with all his talk about respecting women and honor. It was easier to just give in to whatever they wanted and plot behind their backs.  
  
“Hey, I lose you?” Cassandra poked his cheek.  
  
“Mm…bit tired. Magic…wears me out.” He yawned. “You know, now that I’m not passing out every time we stop anymore.”  
  
“Alright, go find somewhere to lie down, then.” She shrugged and walked off to go sharpen her sword some more.  
  
He headed for the cage, but was intercepted by Andrew. “Everything okay?”  
  
“Tired. Magic practice wore me out.” He replied.  
  
“Well, then you should sleep in a proper bed.” Andrew hooked an arm around his shoulders and led him along to the Saporia’s private rooms again. Cassandra had a room here, too, but Varian had never seen it.  
  
He looked over at her, tempted to ask to use her room, but Andrew opened the door and ushered him inside, closing it behind him.  
  
\--  
  
One last word. Rapunzel had gotten it during breakfast, and then Varian was whisked away for training with Cassandra and whatever he was doing with Andrew. He didn’t know what they did, but she got the feeling Varian didn’t actually want to do it, any more than he wanted to train with Cassandra in anticipation of attacking Corona.  
  
She sighed and sat back on her bed, thinking of the words she’d learned over the past month. ‘Power of the Sun, gift me with your light. Shine into the dark; restore our fading sight. Rise into the dawn, blazing star so bright. Burn away the strife. Let hope ignite.’ She sighed and looked at Pascal. “I don’t want to risk using it now and possibly destroy the tower we’re in, but at least I know the spell.” She said quietly.  
  
Her longtime friend tilted his head at her and nuzzled her hand affectionately.  
  
“Rapunzel.”  
  
She jolted in her seat and looked up to see Cassandra outside her cage. That’s odd; normally she didn’t talk to her unless she was bringing food or coming to take Varian away from her.  
  
Well, now was a good time to try to clear some things up, if she would let her. “Cass.” She greeted.  
  
Cassandra leaned against the cage, one hand wrapped around a bar. “You look like you need someone to talk to. Someone that’s not your chameleon.”  
  
“I talked to Pascal and…our mother and no one else for years.” She set Pascal down. “Cass…her death was an accident.” She looked at her. “Eugene cut my hair to save me and she…she started to lose her age so fast, started stumbling and hiding her face under her hood. Then she tripped on my hair, it was so long and all over the place, and she was…Oh, Cass, it was…so painful and horrible to watch! She fell out the window, and on her way down, she was being reduced to dust. She had been surviving on the Sundrop Flower for so long and she grabbed my hair as the magic was fading from it and…”  
  
She started to sob. “I wish I’d known about you! I wish she hadn’t taken me at all but, at least if you had been there, I wouldn’t have been alone most of the time! I’m sorry, Cass! I’m sorry she took me, I’m sorry she died, I’m so sorry!” She got off the bed and ran to the bars, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I want to make things right between us! I would’ve loved to have you for a sister! But I can’t change what our mother did! And I can’t bring back dust, as much as I want to sometimes! I’m so sorry, Cassandra!”  
  
Cassandra was silent and then she sighed, reaching out and cupping her cheek. “It’s…too late to go back to how things were, Raps.” She said softly. “But, we could at least make the best of the situation.” She stepped back and held out a hand, the bars sinking into the ground around Rapunzel. “You can just live here with us from now on. We can be sisters, just like you want. But, I’m a villain now. And once a villain, always a villain.” She walked away from her. “Behave and you can have as much freedom here as Varian does.”  
  
“Wait.” Rapunzel walked after her. “Uhm…”  
  
Cass looked at her. “Yes, Raps?”  
  
She glanced to the side awkwardly. “I was wondering…” No, she couldn’t ask to see Eugene. That wasn’t behaving. She pursed her lips, then smiled with an empty smile she had practiced for years. “Do you want to play chess? I’m pretty good at it.”  
  
Cassandra smiled and held out a hand, creating a chess table. Then she created individual pieces on top of it and turned to her. “Left or right? They’re all the same color.”  
  
“That might get confusing.” Rapunzel laughed a bit as she walked over with her to take a seat as chairs rose up from the floor.  
  
“Eh, maybe Varian can recolor some of them, if we get him his alchemy stuff. Thinking of building him a lab, let him actually have his alchemy since he’s been behaving so well.” Cassandra took a seat. “Andrew wants him to make them weapons, anyway.”  
  
Rapunzel sat across from her once-friend and forced a smile. “I guess it’s your move.”  
  
Cassandra picked up one of the pieces, then paused and waved her hand over the board. Rapunzel’s pieces turned blue and she grinned. “Thought that might work.” She said, gesturing to the blue parts of her armor before she moved a pawn forward. “Less confusing?”  
  
Rapunzel nodded, picking up her own pawn to move it forward. “Thanks, Cass.”  
  
“Anytime.” Cassandra grinned.  
  
Rapunzel looked around. “So…what do Varian and Andrew do together, anyway?”  
  
“I dunno, ‘secret guy stuff’. They won’t tell me.” Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Whatever, right?”  
  
“Yeah…but, doesn’t he seem a bit sad?” She asked.  
  
“Rapunzel, he’s being held here against his will and forced to be a puppet.” Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “Of _course_ , he’s sad.”  
  
“Right.” Rapunzel nodded. “That…that makes sense.”  
  
“I figured you’d understand. Any luck with that healing yet, by the way?”  
  
“Not yet, but I haven’t tried since my last attempt with Varian. He thought that, if we both held a black rock, it’d take away the moon powers from my hair, but no luck. And I can’t seem to be able to use the black rocks right now, either.”  
  
“Of course not. The Moonstone is right here.” She chuckled. “But, it’s an interesting theory.” She reached out and took some of Rapunzel’s loose hair into her hand. “If I focus on the moonstone…maybe we can remove the moon powers. Try singing your healing song.”  
  
“Right now?” Rapunzel asked.  
  
“Yeah.” Cassandra nodded.  
  
Rapunzel bit her lip and nodded, closing her eyes and focusing. She could feel Cassandra’s grip on her hair tightening a bit as she started to sing.  
  
“ _Flower, gleam and glow,  
Let your power shine.  
Make the clock reverse;  
Bring back what once was mine.  
  
_ _Heal what has been hurt.  
_ _Change the fate's design.  
_ _Save what has been lost;  
_ _Bring back what once was mine.  
_ _What once was mine._ ”  
  
She felt the familiar rush of energy and let out a soft gasp as she felt a small, gloved hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw that Varian had rejoined them and both he and Cassandra were actively using their moon powers while her hair was glowing. She then let out a sharp cry as she felt _something_ get ripped from inside of her and then her eyes started to glow too.  
  
“Let’s give this a test run, huh?” She heard Andrew saying, and then she heard the sound of a blade slicing flesh before her hair was gripped and wrapped around something behind her. “Try singing again, princess.”  
  
She obeyed, though she wasn’t sure if it was her own will or not.  
  
“ _Flower, gleam and glow,  
Let your power shine.  
Make the clock reverse;  
Bring back what once was mine.  
  
_ _Heal what has been hurt.  
_ _Change the fate's design.  
_ _Save what has been lost;  
_ _Bring back what once was mine.  
_ _What once was mine._ ”  
  
Her hair was slowly released and then Cassandra and Varian let go of her. She looked at her still-glowing hair as the glow slowly faded away.  
  
“Try it without us holding you now.” Cassandra said smugly.  
  
“When did you two even come back out?” Rapunzel asked, looking at Varian.  
  
“Cass…called me.” Varian glanced to the side. “Andrew just came with.”  
  
When did she…oh. With the Moonstone. Okay, so that was apparently a thing now. Every new revelation about Varian’s Moonstone connection made her feel sick, but she hid it behind a comforting smile.  
  
“Rapunzel,” Cassandra said, reminding her of her order.  
  
“Right.” She closed her eyes and sang again.  
  
“ _Flower, gleam and glow,  
Let your power shine.  
Make the clock reverse;  
Bring back what once was mine.  
  
_ _Heal what has been hurt.  
_ _Change the fate's design.  
_ _Save what has been lost;  
_ _Bring back what once was mine.  
_ _What once was mine._ ”  
  
She opened her eyes to see her hair glowing, the light reflecting on Cassandra’s smug expression. Andrew was in front of her now, rubbing his healed arm.  
  
“Looks like we solved _that_ problem, huh, Sundrop?” She chuckled. “Your move.”  
  
Rapunzel nodded, trying not to think of how her smile reminded her of Gothel’s.  
  
Andrew walked off and Varian stayed next to them to watch the game. For a brief moment, Rapunzel could picture the three of them just like this in Gothel’s tower. The Sundrop, the Moonstone, and her biological daughter, all raised by the woman who saw humans with powers as property. Just like Cassandra now did.  
  
She was suddenly glad it was only _her_ trapped in the tower all those years. Isolation never treated Varian well.  
  
\--  
  
With her newfound “freedom”, Rapunzel got to spend more time with Varian than before. The two of them were sitting by the window right now, watching the outside. Cassandra had used a black rock hand to keep Rapunzel from trying to escape with her long hair, despite her repeatedly saying that this tower was WAY too high for that to even work, and Varian was lying with his head on Rapunzel’s lap as they watched the sun set outside.  
  
“I wish I had my paints. Maybe make this place more colorful, if that’s possible.” Rapunzel sighed. “Probably not, though.”  
  
“Tired of the black? Well, moon rocks can come in black, blue or white. Take your pick.” He closed his eyes. “Did you hear what they said earlier?”  
  
“They’re going to attack Corona tomorrow.” Rapunzel nodded. “And we’re being forced to go along.”  
  
“They won’t stand a chance.” Varian said grimly.  
  
Rapunzel nodded, placing her hand on his back and rubbing it comfortingly. “I’ll have to use the spell.”  
  
Varian nodded. “It’s their only chance.”  
  
“What if it hurts you?” She looked at him.  
  
Varian sighed. “We don’t know if it will or not. And, even if it did, it’s me or Corona.”  
  
She nodded, thinking of how he’d nearly been killed by Andrew before. If Pascal hadn’t been there…  
  
“I miss Ruddiger.” Varian whimpered. “I miss dad…” He buried his face in her skirt. “I miss mom.”  
  
Well, that was an opener. “What happened to her?”  
  
He sighed and rolled over to look up at her. “She was an alchemist, like me. Why I got into it, actually. She went on a trip with a friend…and never came back. I was three.”  
  
“I’m sorry.” Rapunzel took his gloved hand in hers. “That must be painful to think about. To remember.”  
  
He sighed and pulled his hand away before taking off his glove and taking her hand again. “About as painful as living in a tower for eighteen years.” He said with a sad smile.  
  
“Raps! Varian!”  
  
They got up, Varian pulling his glove back on, and went to Cassandra’s side. She gestured to the table and they sat down with everyone else. Pascal sat on Rapunzel’s shoulder and she offered him food.  
  
“We set off for Corona at dusk tomorrow. By the time we get there, the moon will be high in the sky and can make our move. Rapunzel, I want you to make sure anyone that gets hurt is healed. We’re just destroying the city and capturing the citizens, no one needs to get hurt or die.” Cassandra smiled at her. “Not when we have the Sundrop with us.”  
  
The Saporians nodded and raised their glasses. “Long Live New Saporia!”  
  
Rapunzel pursed her lips and glanced at Varian. If she was caught using the spell…she needed to make sure no one heard her doing it, or she’d never leave the tower again. And if they realized that _he_ gave her the spell…  
  
She couldn’t get caught. She couldn’t screw up. For _both_ their sakes.  
  
\--  
  
Varian slept in Rapunzel’s bed that night, clinging to her tightly as if afraid that if he let go, he’d be ripped away from her. Rapunzel had trouble sleeping, and looked up when Cassandra walked over to her bed.  
  
“Thinking I should give you some walls.” Cassandra said jokingly. “Can’t sleep?”  
  
“Would you be able to, if you were about to be forced to attack your home?” She held Varian tighter.  
  
“Hm…but, you’re not attacking. You’re making sure no one dies. I could leave you here, but the Saporians tend to get…overly excited when attacking. People could die…”  
  
“No, I’m going.” Rapunzel sat up a bit. Varian whimpered and shifted to hang onto her waist tightly. “I just…can’t sleep.”  
  
“You should sleep. You’ll need your energy.” Cassandra walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to stroke Varian’s cheek. “I can’t knock you out as easily as I can knock him out, but I _will_ use one of his sleeping-gas bombs if I have to.”  
  
“Alright, alright.” Rapunzel laid back down and closed her eyes, somehow willing herself to sleep.  
  
\--  
  
Cassandra waited until she was sure they were both asleep and then nodded and reached out to run her hand through Varian’s hair, her thumb stroking down the streak of blue, before she reached for Rapunzel’s and gently grasped it in her palm. This was the closest she would ever get to understanding her mother, by harnessing power just like she did.  
  
She sighed softly and then released her hair before getting up and heading over to her own room.  
  
“Babe.”  
  
She looked over at Andrew. “Hey.”  
  
“Spend the night with me?” He smiled and offered her his hand.  
  
She walked over to him. “Sure, why not.”  
  
He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. “Tomorrow, we take Corona. Tonight, I take you.”  
  
She laughed a bit and let him lead her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can Rapunzel set them both free before Corona is destroyed?


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The attack on Corona begins! Can Rpunzel free them before her beloved city is destroyed?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

The sun was setting on their ride to Corona. Just like before, Varian rode with Cassandra and Rapunzel with Andrew but, this time, they weren’t bound and blindfolded. They knew exactly where they were going, what they’d be doing.  
  
“Cassandra!”  
  
They pulled their horses to a stop when a group of people came out of the woods to block their way as soon as they left the wall.  
  
“We don’t have time for them.” Cassandra gripped Varian’s shoulder. “Get them out of the way.”  
  
Varian held out a hand and a wave of black rocks came out between them and forced them to the side. Then he raised rocks around them to keep them in place as they rode on by. Once they were through, the rocks lowered to the ground – but they were already too far to follow on foot and they only had one horse.  
  
Eugene, of course, took off after them on Maximus.  
  
“Why let them follow?” Andrew asked her as she took her hand from Varian’s shoulder.  
  
“I want to see the despair on his face when he sees Corona fall with him unable to do anything to stop it.” Cassandra said with a grin.  
  
Varian looked over his shoulder at Eugene and Maximus following in the distance. “Eyes forward, Varian.” Cassandra ordered, and he looked ahead of them. “Good boy.”  
  
“Cassandra!” Eugene called after them.  
  
They rode on until they reached the bridge Varian destroyed. Once there, they got off their horses. Eugene came up with Maximus and Cassandra gripped Varian’s shoulder. “Cage him.”  
  
He held out a hand mechanically and Eugene and Maximus were trapped in a black rock cage before he even had a chance to get off the horse. Then she let go of him and walked over to the bridge. “Let’s rebuild this bridge and force everyone out.” She smirked at Varian. “Rapunzel, you’ll wait here with Andrew. He volunteered to watch you.”  
  
“I only trust my own eyes and ears.” Andrew told Rapunzel smugly.  
  
“Rapunzel!” Eugene reached for her through the bars.  
  
“Oh, go.” Andrew nodded. Rapunzel ran over and took his hand, sobbing as they hugged through the bars.  
  
“Bye, baby.” Cassandra kissed Andrew’s cheek and then gripped Varian’s shoulder. “Let’s get going.  
  
“See you soon, sweetheart.” Andrew purred as he watched them head off, Varian reconstructing the bridge from black rocks. The rest of the Saporians followed after them, leaving Rapunzel with Andrew.  
  
“Rapunzel, are you alright?” Eugene asked, and Andrew turned to look over at them.  
  
“I’m fine. Sort of. I mean, I’ve been stuck in a tower for the past month, but at least I can heal again! Which…just puts me back at square one. At least I’m outside?” She sighed heavily. “Varian and I have had it pretty rough. Cassandra’s completely lost it, she’s just like her mother now.”  
  
“What can we do to stop her?” Eugene asked.  
  
“I don’t know…maybe the Dark Kingdom has an idea? They had the Moonstone before.” Rapunzel looked up at him.  
  
“I haven’t seen my dad since Varian got taken.” Eugene admitted. “Maybe I should’ve gone to find him, I was so focused on trying to find out how to get in to free you…”  
  
“And now you’re in a cage.” Andrew walked over with a taunting smirk. “Too bad, so sad. Varian does good work, doesn’t he? Then again, hah, that kid seems to be good at _anything_. Well, except for keeping himself out of trouble. Bad luck follows him like a storm.”  
  
“Why are you praising him? I thought you wanted him _dead_?” Eugene frowned.  
  
“I can appreciate fine art and still hate the painter. Besides, my relationship with him has changed considerably, ever since I found out that Cassandra can turn him into her little magic puppet.” Andrew chuckled.  
  
Eugene scowled. “What are you talking about?”  
  
“You know that cute little streak in his hair? Turns out, it’s just like your girlfriend’s blond hair. Varian was born with a piece of the Moonstone inside of him and, when Cassandra uses the Moonstone on him, he becomes her completely obedient puppet.” Andrew chuckled.  
  
“That’s why I said she’s just like her mother.” Rapunzel said bitterly. “I’ve seen him try to fight it, but she always punishes him. But, she managed to stop himself from destroying Old Corona…he was punished horribly for that one.”  
  
“’Punished’ how?” Eugene glared at Andrew.  
  
“Oh, it was great.” Andrew laughed. “He was _so moody_ for a bit afterwards. I used a drug that swapped his pleasure and pain receptors and then gave him a drug tat forced him into hallucinations. He was laughing like a madman, that kid has SO much bad stuff in his life!” He laughed louder.  
  
Eugene looked horrified. “How could you do that to him, he’s just a kid!”  
  
“Yeah, well, he’s lucky he’s not _dead_. He’s only alive because Cassandra won’t LET him die.” Andrew smirked. “He’s not _allowed_ to die, she said. Apparently, if he dies, she loses the piece of the Moonstone inside of him.”  
  
“How could she…?” Eugene clenched his fists.  
  
“She calls him her _property_.” Rapunzel said, clenching her fists. “I don’t know how to help him…”  
  
They heard a commotion and looked over to see people running on the bridge with black rocks chasing them. They reached the other side and cried out as their exit was blocked by black rocks that stretched as far as the eye could see. “Oh, hey, guys.” Eugene greeted. “Come to join the party? It’s kind of boring, not even any snacks, but at least we get to hear about a psycho enslaving an actual child!”  
  
Andrew snorted and looked over as more people were chased by the black rocks.  
  
“Where are my parents?” Rapunzel asked fearfully.  
  
“Ah!” One of the people tripped and cried out as a black rock stabbed them. Another person helped her up and brought her to the other side.  
  
“Here, let me see her!” Rapunzel ran over and untied her hair to wrap it around her. “I can heal.” She assured the man before she started to sing.  
  
“ _Flower, gleam and glow,  
Let your power shine.  
Make the clock reverse;  
Bring back what once was mine.  
  
_ _Heal what has been hurt.  
_ _Change the fate's design.  
_ _Save what has been lost;  
_ _Bring back what once was mine.  
_ _What once was mine._ ”  
  
The woman, now healed, clung to her and cried softly. “What is happening to our town?!”  
  
“Princess.” Xavier went to her side. “Are you alright?”  
  
“Xavier.” She looked up at him. “Cassandra has enslaved Varian. He has a piece of the Moonstone in him and she’s controlling it. Do you know anything about how to stop it?”  
  
He shook his head grimly. “I wondered why he was attacking with tears on his face.”  
  
“We have more wounded!” Someone cried.  
  
Rapunzel got up and hurried over to help. “What happened?” She asked, wrapping her hair around the several wounded people.  
  
“We weren’t moving fast enough, they said.” The man said grimly. “Princess, they’re going after the King and Queen.”  
  
She nodded and then sang the healing incantation before they ran to join the others tried to push against the black-rock wall.  
  
Rapunzel clenched her fists and looked over. Cassandra and Varian were coming back, accompanied by the Saporians, any stragglers from Corona, her parents, and freed prisoners. Once they reached the other side, Cassandra let go of Varian’s shoulder and he let out a groan as he fell to his knees, the glow fading from his body.  
  
“Varian!” She ran over and knelt next to him.  
  
“Rapunzel…” He looked up at her, speaking quietly. “If you’re going to use that spell, _now_ would be a good time.”  
  
She nodded, then wrapped her hair around him. “You’re hurt. Here, let me heal you.” She said, smiling.  
  
He smiled up at her and nodded.  
  
She took a deep breath and released it before starting to sing.  
  
“ _Power of the Sun,  
Gift me with your light._”  
  
“Something’s wrong.” Cassandra realized. “That’s not the right words!”  
  
“ _Shine into the dark,  
Restore our fading sight._”  
  
Cassandra ran over to grab her, but Varian focused and black rocks came up to block her way. She dropped them with ease and grabbed Rapunzel’s arm, crying out in pain as she felt it burn her hand through the armor. “Nngh!” She backed away from her as Rapunzel sang on.  
  
Varian was starting to sweat, his eyes turning glassy. Did Rapunzel even notice?  
  
“ _Rise into the dawn,  
Blazing star so bright._”  
  
“Rapunzel, stop!” Cassandra yelled, but it was getting to be too much for her to get closer and the black rocks were starting to crack. She fired more black rocks at her, but they weren’t doing any good.  
  
“Varian!” She moved her hand to her Moonstone. “Stop her!”  
  
He gasped sharply but didn’t glow. In fact, it seemed that it was affecting him the same as the black rocks!  
  
“ _Burn away the strife,  
And let our hope ignite._”  
  
They heard a girl’s laugh echo around the area as Rapunzel sang on.  
  
“Varian! WITHER!” Cassandra ordered.  
  
Varian gasped sharply, this time starting to glow as he sang.  
  
“ _Wither and decay,  
End this destiny.  
Break these earthly chains—_”  
  
“ _Let hope ignite!_ ” Rapunzel finished, and Varian screamed as the sun energy burst out of Rapunzel’s hair. Rapunzel lifted into the air and he was released from the hair’s hold, his body falling limply to the ground as black rocks shattered around them.  
  
Andrew ran over and picked Varian up, then took Cassandra’s hand and pulled them both to his horse. “We’re getting you two out of here!” He said, and Cassandra shakily got on. Varian was draped on her lap and Andrew got on behind her, setting the horse into a gallop and riding away from Rapunzel as fast as he could go.  
  
The wave of the sun’s energy spread out, taking down any black rocks. Their tower was destroyed, so he headed for somewhere that the sun wouldn’t affect – underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel is free, but Varian is still captured!


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra, Varian and Andrew recover from the battle, but they have a visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

Water dripped from stalactites above as Andrew looked over Cassandra’s arm. “Looks like you’re already healed by the moon armor.” He said, sitting back.  
  
She nodded, moving the armor back over her arm. Then she looked over at Varian, who had been unconscious since he was hit by direct contact with the hair. “When he wakes up, he’s in big trouble.”   
  
“We’ll worry about that later.” Andrew nodded. “Can you still use the black rocks?”  
  
She held out a hand and black rocks formed around Varian, putting him in a cage. “Yep.”  
  
“Good.” He nodded.  
  
“We left the others.” Cassandra sighed.  
  
“They’ll understand.” Andrew pulled her closer to him. “We should’ve kept a closer eye on them. He tricked me with his compliance, again.”  
  
“So did Rapunzel.” Cassandra frowned. “I’ll make her pay for that.”  
  
“What are we going to do with _him_?” Andrew looked at Varian again.  
  
“First things first, make sure he still works. He was wrapped up in her hair when it went off, I don’t know what effect it had on his powers.” Cassandra frowned. “We’ll let him rest for now, though. However long that takes.”  
  
“I’ll go out and get us some food in a few hours. Let the heat die down out there.” Andrew nodded.  
  
Cassandra sighed and leaned into him. “I’m pretty tired, too.”  
  
“Sleep, babe. I’ll keep watch.” He promised.  
  
\--  
  
Rapunzel groaned, shaking her head. She was still recovering from the spell, two hours later. No one had seen Andrew, Cassandra or Varian and she feared for her little friend. He’d risked himself to save Corona, to stop Cassandra from making him do something terrible.   
  
“We can never go back to how it was before.” Rapunzel said softly. “Cassandra will pay for her crimes.” She stood up and walked over to look out the window of her bedroom.  
  
With the bridge destroyed, they’d had to ferry people back over via boat and her father was arranging for the bridge to be repaired, as well as anywhere else that had been damaged by the black rocks.   
  
A guard came to get her for a meeting with her father and his advisors on the current situation.  
  
\--  
  
“First things first, I want to remind you all that Varian is innocent.” Rapunzel said firmly, placing her hands on the table. “Before he was born, his father was in the Dark Kingdom when the Moonstone Opal released a wave of energy when King Edmund touched it. That wave of energy entered Quirin and, as a result, Varian was born with Moon Powers like I was born with Sun ones because of my mother drinking medicine made from the Sundrop Flower.” She clenched her fists. “The difference is that he only got a piece, a piece that Cassandra – or anyone, really – can control with the Moonstone. She _forced_ him to do all of that, he can’t use his powers when he’s not under control!”  
  
King Fredric sighed. “Alright…you’ve made your case. The boy is blameless. Now, let’s move on to the other two.”  
  
Rapunzel nodded and sat back down. “I doubt Cass will use the black rocks as often right now. She’s trying to hide. Maybe…underground somewhere.”  
  
“That’ll be a difficult search.” Eugene remarked from beside her.  
  
“Not with Maximus and Ruddiger.” Rapunzel said excitedly. “No one knows Varian’s scent better than Ruddiger and Maximus only needs a scrap to get on the trail!”  
  
“Then, let’s get them started on it.” King Fredric said, nodding firmly. “Captain, I leave this is your hands.”  
  
“Yes, sir.” Eugene saluted.  
  
They all got up from the meeting then and Rapunzel walked with Eugene. “Hey…Eugene…” She reached into her bag. “I need to give this to you, before I risk losing it again.”  
  
She pulled out the box with the ring. “Eugene…will you marry me?”  
  
He blinked and laughed a bit, pulling out his own box. “Rapunzel, will you marry me?”  
  
She laughed a bit and they exchanged rings before kissing. “I do.”  
  
“Me too.” He smiled. “Now…let’s go find ourselves a Moonstone kid so he can attend our wedding.”  
  
She nodded. “Let’s go find him.”  
  
They headed off to get Ruddiger and Maximus.  
  
\--  
  
A gray-haired, pale-skinned girl in a fancy dress walked through the woods, humming to herself. **_“Ah, it feels wonderful to feel the wind again. It took longer than I thought it would, but I achieved my goal. Now, then…I should see to my Moon Child._** ”  
  
\--  
  
Varian woke up hours later, but he was silent, staring blankly at the ceiling through the bars of his cage. Andrew got up, taking care not to wake Cassandra, and leaned over him. “Do you know why you’re in there, Varian?”  
  
Varian didn’t reply, only stared blankly. He frowned and reached in, roughly grabbing his shirt. “Varian, I asked you a question.”  
  
He still didn’t reply, his eyes glassy as he stared at nothing. Every few seconds, his hair and eyes would flicker in and out of glowing.  
  
“Cassandra.” He said, dropping Varian. He walked over and gently shook her awake. “Babe, something’s wrong with Varian.”  
  
“Varian?” She got up and walked over to him, dropping the cage into the ground as she did. She gripped his shoulder, but he only flickered again, his gaze still glassy.  
  
“ ** _He has been weakened by the Sun._** ”  
  
Cassandra gasped, knowing that voice. “It’s you!”  
  
The Girl walked into the area, looking at Varian pityingly. “ ** _He needs more of the Moon’s power to recover_**.”  
  
“I already tried using the moon’s power on him.” She frowned.  
  
The girl laughed a bit. “ ** _Don’t be silly. I didn’t say that he needed you to use the moon’s powers on him. I said he needs more power._** ” She walked up to Cassandra.  
  
“Meaning?” She asked.  
  
 ** _“Meaning…_** ” She smiled serenely and held out a hand. “ ** _He needs the Moonstone to be complete._** ”  
  
“What?” Cassandra stepped back.  
  
“ ** _You played your part well, Cassandra, and successfully freed me, as well as discovered the Moon Child. However, I’m going to need you to give him the Moonstone now._** ” She knelt next to Varian and stroked his cheek. “ ** _My poor little Moon Child._** ”  
  
“You said it was mine.” Cassandra said, her eyes narrowing. “You lied to me!”  
  
“ ** _I told what you needed to hear to get you to fight Rapunzel. But, now, I have no need of you. And Varian needs the Moonstone._** ” She said calmly.  
  
“You think you can make fools of us?!” Andrew started forward, drawing his knife.  
  
She held out a hand and he gasped as he slammed into the wall behind him. Cassandra looked over in concern, then backed up. “ ** _Give me the Moonstone, Cassandra. Your part is done._** ”  
  
“My…part?” Cassandra breathed.  
  
The Girl took Varian’s hand and focused. He let out a soft gasp, his body glowing completely from head to toe, and Cassandra cried out as she was suddenly bound by black rocks.   
  
“ ** _Don’t make this difficult._** ” She walked over to her. “ ** _You had your fun, but now…it’s Zhan Tiri’s turn to play._** ” She reached up and ripped the Moonstone off of her.   
  
Cassandra cried out as she felt her power be ripped out of her, her hair, eyes and clothes returning to normal. She let out a weak groan as she watched the girl - …did she say _Zhan Tiri_? – approach Varian and kneel next to his glowing form.  
  
“ ** _Poor little Moon Child. So incomplete._** ” She lowered the Moonstone to his chest and grinned like a madman as his body started to glow brighter, black rocks forming around the cave as the stone started to glow and then disappeared into Varian’s glow. Then the rocks retracted as Varian slowly stopped glowing, his eyes now closed in a deep sleep. “ ** _There. That’s better._** ” She patted his cheek and then smiled smugly at Cassandra before she changed form into a woman that looked similar to her child appearance, lifted Varian into her arms, and left the cave.  
  
Cassandra could only look in fear and pain as her Moonstone was taken away from her by someone she thought she could trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feeling when you realize you're just a bit-part in the play.


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel finds Cassandra and Andrew, but where is Varian?! Varian wakes up in a strange location.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

Maximus and Ruddiger caught the trail quickly and they found a cave leading underground. To Rapunzel’s shock, though, she found Cassandra back to normal and bound in black rocks and Andrew unconscious against the wall.  
  
“Cass!” Rapunzel ran over to her.  
  
“I’m okay. I think. Andrew?” Cassandra looked over at him worriedly.  
  
Eugene knelt next to him. “…He’s alive, just out. Cassandra, what happened here?”  
  
“Zhan Tiri.” Cassandra said numbly. “She…she tricked me into fighting you… _hating_ you. She was the one that told me about my real mother…told me to keep fighting you, that defeat wasn’t an option…” She hung her head. “Varian was weakened by your attack…and she took the moonstone from me and put it into him. It…it’s gone, Rapunzel. He IS the Moonstone now.”  
  
She clenched her fists. “He told me that she told him about the fourth spell. How to uncover it. This was all her game; we were just her pawns for her to get Varian!” She looked at Rapunzel. “…And probably _you_ , too. You should be careful.”  
  
“Hold on, I’ll get you out of here.” Rapunzel placed her hands on the rocks and started to sing.  
  
“ _Power of the Sun,  
Gift me with your light.  
Shine into the dark,  
Restore our fading sight.  
  
Rise into the dawn;  
Blazing star so bright.  
Burn away the strife  
And let our hope ignite.  
Let hope ignite._”  
  
Cassandra flinched, expecting to be burnt, but it just made the black rocks vanish. “…Thanks.”  
  
Rapunzel stepped back. “So…it was all Zhan Tiri’s doing?”  
  
She nodded.  
  
“Zhan Tiri also caused the blizzard that kept me from going to help Varian’s father, too.” She stepped away from her. “How long has she been playing this long game to get Varian? Was she involved in his mother’s disappearance, too? And how long has Zhan Tiri been a girl? Oh, whatever. She can turn into a blizzard, genders don’t apply.”  
  
“What…what do we do?” Cassandra asked.  
  
“We go save him, obviously.” Rapunzel said firmly. “But, this isn’t a fight that you can win, Cass. I have go alone.”  
  
“Uh, no!” Eugene said firmly.  
  
“I caused this mess; I’m going to fix it.” Cassandra said firmly. “It’s the least I can do, after all I’ve done to Varian.”  
  
“Ohhh…” Andrew groaned.  
  
“Andrew!” Cassandra ran over to him.  
  
“Hey, babe…what happened to your hair?” He asked.  
  
“Varian was taken by that girl, and she stole the Moonstone from me and…I watched Varian absorb it, like it was meant for him all along. She lied to me and made me do horrible things!” She clenched her fists.  
  
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” He gently cupped her cheek. “We’ll get him back, alright?”  
  
“No, _not_ alright. _You’re_ going back to jail, buster. Cassandra has demonic influence as an excuse, _you’re_ just a bad guy!” Eugene said firmly.  
  
“Tch.” Andrew rolled his eyes.  
  
\--  
  
Where was he?  
  
It felt so warm, like a mother’s embrace…  
  
Mom…he missed his mom.  
  
Someone was humming.  
  
Varian slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a bed, wearing fancy black and blue clothes. Nearby him was a woman dressed in a gray dress similar in style to what he was wearing, knitting something as she sat in a rocking chair. “Uhm…”  
  
“ ** _Ah, you’re awake, my Moon Child._** ” She greeted with a smile.  
  
“That voice…” He blinked in surprise. “The girl from my dream? No, you’re too old…”  
  
“ ** _Indeed, I am._** ” She confirmed.  
  
He looked around. “Where are we? Where is Cassandra?”  
  
“ ** _I discarded her. She played her part._** ” The woman said calmly. “ ** _I have returned your powers to you._** ”  
  
“My…powers?” He frowned, confused.  
  
“ ** _Of course. The Moonstone was never meant for Cassandra. The Moonstone was meant for you. Why else would you be born with its power in the first place?_** ” She smiled and held up her knitting project. “ ** _Are you hungry?_** ”  
  
“Uh…yeah.” He nodded.  
  
“ ** _Well, come along, then._** ” She stood up and set her knitting down. “ ** _Let’s go get you some food._** ”  
  
He got out of bed and followed her out of the room. “…Where are we?”  
  
“ ** _A house, of my own making. But we are also at the Great Tree._** ” She explained calmly.  
  
“And…who are you?” He asked.  
  
She smiled slyly. “ ** _A friend._** ”  
  
“I was hoping for a name.” Varian sighed.  
  
“ ** _Hm…How about Mentor?_** ”  
  
“That’s not a name, it’s a title.” He pointed out.  
  
“ ** _Oh, very well. You truly are the heir to Demanitus’ legacy, always so curious._** ” She turned to him. “ ** _You have heard of me, I suspect. My name is Zhan Tiri. And I want to help you learn to use your powers, Varian._** ”  
  
“Zhan Tiri? The demon Demanitus fought?!” Varian stopped short.  
  
“ ** _Yes, I do have some bad blood with your predecessor. That doesn’t mean it has to be the same for you and I, Moon Child._** ”  
  
“Okay, one, stop calling me that!” Varian swiped his hand at the air in front of him. “And two, why would I trust you, after you sent a blizzard to attack Corona and who knows what else?! You said she ‘played her part’, are you the one that made Cassandra do bad things?!”  
  
She sighed heavily. “ ** _I had hoped I could get you to cooperate, seeing as I helped free you from Cassandra. And her capturing you was not my idea, that was caused by your arrogance._** ”  
  
“From one master to another, isn’t it?” He asked bitterly. “You just want to use me like _they_ did! Well, I’m not going to be used ANYMORE!” He threw a hand forward, but all that happened was black rocks appearing around the area before they sank into the floor. “What?”  
  
“ ** _You have regained your powers, yes, but you are not trained in them. Up until now, you only were able to control your powers when Cassandra manipulated you into it. You may have access to your powers now, but you cannot use them the same way._** ” She walked up to him and he stepped back, the two moving forward and back until he hit a wall. “ ** _That is why I intend to teach you, but I cannot teach a student so unwilling._** ”  
  
“I don’t _need_ to learn!” He insisted. “If I have the full power of the Moonstone, then Cassandra can’t manipulate me anymore! No one can! I can go back to my normal life!”  
  
“ ** _Andrew did not require the Moonstone to control you, did he?_** ” She asked, examining her nails. “ ** _He did not use any powers to force you to do all those things with him, is this not so?_** ”  
  
He froze, his skin going pale.  
  
“ ** _Such a pity, losing your innocence from a hand so cruel, but gentle with its cruelty._** ” She smiled slyly at him.  
  
“You…You know about that?” He whimpered, hugging himself tightly.  
  
“ ** _If you learn to use your powers fully, then you will never have to fear being touched like that by anyone again._** ” She assured him, reaching out to cup his cheek in her hand. She gently tilted his head up, feeling his body trembling under her touch, watching his blue eyes on the verge of tears at the memories. “ ** _Will you allow me to teach you, Moon Child?_** ”  
  
He hung his head, nodding. “Yes…Yes, I want to learn.” He clenched his teeth. “I want to make him **_pay_**.”  
  
She smiled with satisfaction and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. “ ** _Then…let’s go get you some food and then we will begin your training._** ”  
  
Varian nodded, his hands clenched tightly. As he walked, black rocks came up and then sank down behind them, responding to his fury and shame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Varian is hungry for revenge again.


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Rapunzel plans to rescue Varian, Varian improves his magic control and copes with his trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

“Okay, so Varian has been taken by Zhan Tiri. We have no idea where, but we have to find out.” Rapunzel said, pacing anxiously. “The question is, what kind of state will we find Varian in? I mean, she managed to turn Cassandra in a revenge-driven rage machine over…something in her past that she didn’t even _know_ about until she was told. Varian has a lot of pain. A Lot of pain. So much pain that she could easily dig into him and use him like she used Cassandra.”  
  
“What all happened to him in that tower?” Eugene looked at Cassandra.  
  
“I only know what _I_ was doing with him. I made him use his powers and locked him up in cages and was a bit of a jerk. I have no idea what happened between him and Andrew, though.” Cassandra sighed.  
  
“Andrew?” Eugene frowned.  
  
“They kept walking off in private for some ‘secret guy thing’.” Cassandra rolled her eyes. “I didn’t ask.”  
  
“Cassandra, this is serious! If Andrew did anything really bad to him, something Varian didn’t tell you about, then it could be used against him!” Eugene said, getting up and heading for the door.  
  
“Where are you going?” Rapunzel asked.  
  
“To talk to Andrew!” He headed out quickly.  
  
“…Right.” Cassandra shrugged. “Okay.”  
  
“Cass, are you sure you’re okay?” Rapunzel asked.  
  
“Why are you so worried about me? I was a terrible person, powers or no powers. I should be in the dungeon, not up here in your room with you.” Cassandra curled up with a sigh.  
  
“Because I never gave up on you.” Rapunzel moved closer to her. “I knew that something weird must’ve happened. I…didn’t expect on Zhan Tiri to be using you, though.” She admitted.  
  
Cassandra scoffed bitterly. “Yeah. Neither did I.”  
  
\--  
  
Eugene stepped into the dungeon and went straight to Andrew’s cell. He slammed his hand against the bars, glaring at the man inside. “When you said your relationship with Varian changed after you found out he was able to manipulated by Cassandra’s powers, what did you mean?!”  
  
“It meant I didn’t want him dead anymore.” Andrew replied.  
  
“Is that all? You didn’t do anything _terrible_ to him?!” Eugene demanded.  
  
Andrew sat up. “I didn’t do anything the kid didn’t like. We bonded, became really close.” He assured him. “Why so snappy about it?”  
  
“Maybe because Varian has been taken by a demon that could manipulate Varian if there’s any unresolved trauma?!” Eugene gripped the bar tightly. “Did you do anything to him?!”  
  
“I drugged him, _that_ might’ve been traumatic.” Andrew chuckled.  
  
“Anything Cassandra doesn’t know about? Like your ‘secret guy thing’?” Eugene said with clenched teeth.  
  
“Oh.” Andrew laughed. “You should’ve just asked about that from the start. I just helped him relieve some tension, that’s all. We helped each other relax. Gave him a nice full-body massage, helped him get to sleep.”  
  
“…That’s all?” Eugene asked.  
  
“That’s all.” Andrew assured him.  
  
“Fine. Then, we might have a chance to find Varian before he turns into another rage monster like Cassandra.” He headed out of the dungeon.  
  
“Well…I gave him a little milk before bed, too.” Andrew chuckled to himself after Eugene left.  
  
\--  
  
Varian finished his food and then went out to a courtyard. He didn’t know much about this Great Tree, but it looked like it was where Zhan Tiri was strongest. She waited for him and smiled, extending a hand, when he approached. “ ** _Are you ready for your training, my Moon Child?_** ”  
  
“Okay, first of all, drop the ‘my’ stuff. I dealt with that enough from _them_. ‘My Moonstone’, ‘my alchemist’, I hate it!” He said furiously, his eyes and streak glowing.  
  
“ ** _Very well, then, Varian._** ” She nodded respectfully.  
  
“Thank you.” He wiped at his eyes. “I’m ready.”  
  
She nodded. “ ** _Focus on your powers. Use your mind to shape what you want to see._** ” She said calmly.  
  
He nodded and held out his hand, focusing. His eyes and streak started to glow and then the glow spread out to the rest of his hair as black rocks started to rise out of the ground and fuse together as they grew, taking a specific shape he couldn’t stop thinking about.  
  
“ ** _Well._** ” Zhan Tiri walked over to examine it. “ ** _And who is this?_** ”  
  
“My mother. At least…what she looked like when I last saw her.” Varian walked over and knelt at her feet. “I miss her…she’s gone…”  
  
“ ** _What happened to her?_** ”  
  
He slowly stood up and walked backwards, holding out a hand. Another statue was shaped by black rocks as tears slipped down his cheeks. “ **This woman.** She took her and they never returned. I was just a kid…”  
  
“ ** _You are still a child now._** ” Zhan Tiri reminded him.  
  
“I’m sixteen, not…not a child. I’m a teenager.” He shook his head.  
  
“ ** _You are still young._** ” She tilted her head to the side. “ ** _You have done well with these statues. Why don’t you create something else? Something not from memory?_** ”  
  
“I think I pushed myself too far just making those.” He admitted. “I feel dizzy.”  
  
“ ** _Very well, then. Why don’t you go inside and read for a while?_** ” She suggested. He nodded and went in and she followed him.  
  
\--  
  
Nightmares, Zhan Tiri found, were a frequent occurrence for this boy. She slipped into his dreams when she heard him whimpering and observed.  
  
He was on the airship with Andrew. Rapunzel was lying nearby in a puddle of blood, while Varian was backed up against the railing, fear in his eyes as he looked at Andrew pulling his knife out of Rapunzel’s body. “Well, that takes care THAT little problem.” He turned to Varian, who quickly made to run. Andrew caught him easily and slammed him to the deck, sneering down at him. “Now, Varian, you know the law. Traitors don’t _live_ in Saporia.”  
  
“Please!” He cried, trying desperately to break his hands free of the man’s hold. His legs were easily pinned down by the larger man and he was completely helpless. “Please, forgive me! I’m sorry! I was wrong!” His breath hitched as a knife pressed against the skin of his neck.  
  
“Hmm…” He hummed thoughtfully. “How sorry are you?” He chuckled darkly. “Why don’t you prove it and entertain me a little?”  
  
“W-what?” Varian stammered, confused.  
  
“We’re just going to play a little game.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to his. “You’ll play with me, won’t you, kid?”  
  
Varian hicupped a bit and Andrew kissed him again to stifle them, letting go of his knife to slip his hand under Varian’s shirt. “Don’t worry, kid. I can be gentle, and you’ll be forgiven if you cooperate. Unless you want to end up like your princess?”  
  
Varian whimpered. “I-I’ll do it.”  
  
“Good boy.” Andrew chuckled.  
  
Zhan Tiri sighed and clapped her hands. Putting a stop to the dream and waking up Varian.  
  
\--  
  
He woke with a scream and curled up on his bed. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Zhan Tiri next to him. “I…nightmare.”  
  
“ ** _I am aware. I woke you from it. That is not what happened, but he has poisoned your mind so badly that it is affecting your memories when you sleep._** ” She sat down on the edge of his bed. “ ** _Rapunzel is alive. You did not do that with him until you were in the tower, and you know this._** ”  
  
He nodded. “…Thanks for waking me up.” He got up and went outside. Curious, she followed him and found him standing in the moonlight.  
  
He was silent, staring into space, and then he held out a hand, his hair starting to glow, and used black rocks to create a statue of Andrew. Then he let out a scream and created a sword from black rocks before he ran forward and cut “Andrew”’s head off with another scream, then turned on the body, slicing it to pieces until there were only pebbles left, screaming over and over his anguish, rage and shame. Then he dropped the sword, fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands, letting out broken sobs for what Andrew had taken from him, how no one had noticed anything was wrong and let it keep happening.  
  
Zhan Tiri walked out to him with a cloak and gently draped it over him. “ ** _Oh, poor Varian._** ” She knelt next to him and wrapped her arms around him gently. “ ** _Do not worry. You will have your chance to punish him. You are making great progress, and it has only been a week._** ”  
  
Varian’s reply was broken sobs and shuddering breaths. She let him cry into her arms and gently rubbed his back soothingly. Eventually, he calmed down and slowly pulled away, his eyes and hair still glowing.  
  
“How do I make armor?”  
  
“The same way you make any of it.” She smiled.  
  
He stood up and focused, reaching down. Black rocks crept up his legs and he slowly raised his hands, letting them rise up around his body. Then he focused and held out his hands, the black rocks covering up his body from neck to toe. Then he reached up to remove his goggles and shaped a black rock helmet around his head that covered his head in all but the eyes.  
  
Then he moved his hands and let it all slide off of him before he put the goggles back on and headed inside. Zhan Tiri followed, but she found he just went back to bed. She walked over and sat in the rocking chair again, returning to her knitting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andrew has a LOT to pay for, and Varian is feeling in the mood to collect.


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and Co head out to find Zhan Tiri's hiding place. Varian and Zhan Tiri discuss her goals concerning Corona and Varian suggests an alternate plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

It had been a week since Varian was taken, and they were no closer to finding where he might’ve gone. They’d contacted the Dark Kingdom, who told them about Zhan Tiri’s connection to the Great Tree – which they’d actually been through before, Rapunzel realized.  
  
Cassandra knew it, too. It was where Rapunzel had learned the first moon incantation.   
  
“…But, isn’t that place destroyed?” She asked carefully.  
  
“Zhan Tiri can easily restore it with her magic.” Adira said calmly. “Especially with the power of the Moonstone. You may have noticed that it has a connection to it as well?”  
  
“Yeah, but they have to still be on the way, right?” Eugene commented. “It took us six months to get there before!”  
  
“The demon can turn into a blizzard; I’m sure taking Varian all that way in one night is an easy task for him. Her. Whatever it calls itself.” Hector huffed.  
  
“I am sure that we can rescue the boy before she hurts him in any way.” King Edmund said optimistically, but then, of course, ruined it by thinking out loud again. “The boy is probably already under her control and we’ll have to fight him.”  
  
“Dad!” Eugene groaned.  
  
“What?” He asked, oblivious as usual to his thinking out loud. “Oh…wait, did I say that out loud?”  
  
“Yes.” Eugene sighed heavily. “Anyways, I’m sure he’s okay. We just need to take a hot-air balloon or something to the Great Tree and we’ll be able to save him!”  
  
“What if His Majesty is right?” Quirin asked grimly. “What if…I have to fight my own son?”  
  
“He won’t hurt you. He didn’t hurt you while under my control, he won’t hurt you when he’s of his own, albeit manipulated, mind.” Cassandra assured him.  
  
The sharp reminder of what Cassandra had done to the boy sent a wave of silent anger her way and she shrank back in her seat. “…I’ll just stop talking now.”  
  
“Probably a good idea.” Eugene nodded.  
  
“So…to the Great Tree, then. Let’s hope he’s actually there.” Rapunzel got up. “Let’s find him and bring him home!”  
  
\--  
  
“I want to go to Corona.” Varian said, sitting in front of the fireplace.  
  
“ ** _We will, in time. First, you must continue your training._** ” She assured him, bringing him a drink.  
  
“I want to drag him out of his prison cell and I want to see the look in his eyes when I kill him…slowly. I’ll start with his hands. Those…disgusting hands that touched me. Then his silver tongue…I’ll cut it out. His leering eyes…that wouldn’t stop looking at me. His…” He shuddered. “I’ll cut it off and **feed** it him.”  
  
“ ** _Such violent thoughts._** ” She offered the drink to him and he accepted it. “ ** _Would it not suffice to simply stab him?_** ”  
  
“After he ‘stabbed’ _me_ so many times? That would be a _mercy_.” Varian glared into the flames. “I want to make him scream for death before I give it to him.”  
  
“ ** _Very well, then. It is what he deserves._** ” She nodded.  
  
“It’s what he deserves.” He nodded firmly, sipping his drink.  
  
He still didn’t know if he could trust Zhan Tiri. She’s already manipulated Cassandra, and had fought Demanitus until he sealed her away. Thinking about it, he realized, she was trying to get Cassandra and Rapunzel to fight to free herself from that place. And now…what could she want with _him_? Why _help_ him? It didn’t make much sense.  
  
He lowered his cup. “…Why are you training me, if not to use me?”  
  
“ ** _You poor child, you’ve become so accustomed to having to work to get affection that you can’t simply accept a gift without questioning it._** ” She sighed softly. “ ** _I simply want to help you become what you should be. Powerful. A god among men. All those that mistreat you, who hurt and make you cry, they are nothing compared to you. And the only reason they were able to hurt you is because you did not have your full power._** ”  
  
He tapped his finger on the cup. “So…you’re _not_ planning to use me to, I dunno, take over the world?”  
  
“ ** _What a lofty goal!_** ” She laughed. “ ** _The only place I intend to ‘take over’ is Corona, and frankly I simply wish to destroy it because of Demanitus choosing it over me._** ”  
  
“So…what if…I ask you _not_ to destroy Corona?” He asked thoughtfully.  
  
“ ** _Oh?_** ” She looked at him.  
  
“I have friends there…I think. And, if you don’t destroy Corona, I’ll stay with you. We can travel the world, a demon and a god on a grand adventure.” He chuckled a bit. “I know…Lofty.”  
  
“ ** _More whimsical._** ” She looked thoughtful. “ ** _But…it does sound tempting. Perhaps we could even convince the Sundrop to join us. Powers like ours, it shouldn’t be in the hands of Man. We are immortal, after all. With power beyond any human imagining. I could help you unlock powers that Demanitus had no idea of._** ”  
  
“Get away from it all, just…wander freely. No rules…no orders. Just three powerful people walking the world.” Varian chuckled. “She would never go for it.”  
  
“ ** _Well, we don’t know until we try!_** ” She encouraged with a grin.  
  
He laughed and nodded. “Well, we’ll ask her while I’m in town to kill Andrew.” He drank more of his drink and licked the sweet, chocolate liquid off his lips. “After all, does she _really_ expect to stay in that Kingdom for the rest of her life? You said so yourself, we’re immortal.” He stood up. “And there’s so much WORLD for us to see!” He declared, throwing his hand out with a grin.  
  
She hummed a bit. “ ** _But, are you really alright with leaving your father?_** ”  
  
“I can visit.” He sighed, wrapping his free hand around himself. “I don’t…I’ve never fit in there, anyway. Now I know why. I’m meant for…other things. He’ll understand. Even if I can’t…tell him about what happened to me.”  
  
She hummed sympathetically and rubbed his head. “ ** _You should get to bed, Varian. We have more training tomorrow, and then we’ll go to Corona in a week._** ”  
  
“Sounds great.” He nodded, setting his empty cup down. “Good night, Zhan Tiri.” He headed for the door, then paused. “If I…have another nightmare tonight…”  
  
“ ** _I will free you from it._** ” She assured him.  
  
He smiled and left the room.  
  
Zhan Tiri smiled and went to collect his cup, then made both cups vanish into thin air. “ ** _I will free you from everything…_** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can Rapunzel save Varian before he's too far gone?


	12. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and Co find Varian, but he's not quite the same as when his father last saw him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

The Great Tree was just as intimidating as the first time they went. Hector led Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene and Quirin through the twists and turns, looking for anything amiss. Finally, they found it. A house, right where there was definitely not a house here before. The room that Rapunzel had found and used the Hurt Incantation. She could see it on the wall behind the house, and in front of it, they found…  
  
“Varian!” She cried, running down to him. The water was completely dried up, replaced with black rocks flat on the ground like stone.  
  
He looked up at her and waved. “Hey, Rapunzel!”  
  
He seemed…normal. Well, he was in some different clothes and standing in front of a house that shouldn’t be here, but he seemed to be himself. She stopped in front of him and hugged him. “You’re okay!”  
  
“Of course, I’m okay. I got rescued.” Varian laughed a bit. “Cassandra and Andrew had me in a cave, I heard, and then Zhan Tiri came and got me, just like she promised. I have my freedom! AND all my powers.”  
  
“That’s…great. Where is Zhan Tiri now?” Rapunzel looked around.  
  
“Making breakfast.” He shrugged. “Join us?”  
  
“Var—”  
  
“KID!” Eugene ran over and threw his arms around Varian, making him stumble back a bit. “You’re ALIVE! And you seem to be pretty sane!”  
  
“Sane? Nah, I haven’t been sane since before you met me.” Varian said in a joking tone. “I mean, I blew stuff up on a daily basis, what sane person does that? Not to mention the fact that I tried to take over the kingdom over a broken promise. What was WRONG with me, huh?” He laughed, and Rapunzel realized it didn’t sound…right. It sounded forced.  
  
“Well, it’s good that you’re doing okay.” Eugene said. “Hey, Quirin! Hector! We found him!”  
  
They were quickly joined by Varian’s father, who Eugene moved out of the way of so he could hug him tightly, and Hector, who stood back and raised an eyebrow at the display.  
  
“I’m so glad to see you! Why are you here, though?” Varian asked.  
  
“Why—you got kidnapped, son.” Quirin said, looking confused.  
  
“Uhm…noooo, I got _rescued_. Zhan Tiri rescued me and has been teaching me how to properly use my powers, without any _puppeteering_ involved.”  
  
Something caught his eye and his expression warped into one of pure rage before he held out a hand and his eyes and hair – all of his hair, not just the one streak - started glowing blue. Black rocks appeared and moved in a wave and Rapunzel looked over and realized that they had surrounded Cassandra before forming into a cage around her.   
  
Then he pulled free of his father and stormed over to her. “ **WHY ARE YOU HERE?! WHY ARE YOU NOT ROTTING IN PRISON, YOU FUCKING BITCH?!** ” He roared, Cassandra cringing away from him in her prison.  
  
“Varian!” Rapunzel ran over to him. “Varian, she wants to make amends for—”  
  
“Amends?! AMENDS?! For which part?! Kidnapping me, enslaving me, BEATING ME, or maybe GIVING ME TO HER FUCKING BOYFRIEND TO TORTURE?!” He held up a hand and the cage started to shrink around Cassandra. “Or how about when you tried to force me to kill everyone in my village?” He asked venomously.  
  
“ ** _Varian._** ”  
  
The cage stopped shrinking and he lowered his hand as a woman in a fancy dress walked over to him. “ ** _She is not the one you want to punish. She was manipulated by Andrew into becoming such a terrible person._** ” She said calmly.  
  
“…No. She’s _always_ been a _bitch_.” Varian turned and left Cassandra in the cage, storming off inside and slamming the door.  
  
“ ** _Oh dear. He’s upset._** ” The woman clicked her tongue. “ ** _Well, let me talk to him. I’ll get him to release her from the cage._** ” She walked past the stunned adults and opened the door behind closing it behind her.  
  
“…Okay…one, what a transformation. Two, where did learn to say that stuff? Those…words?” Eugene asked in disbelief.  
  
“…Prison, he said. He only really uses them when he’s…really mad.” Rapunzel looked at Cassandra.  
  
“…Okay. That was…terrifying.” Cassandra decided.  
  
\--  
  
“ ** _Varian._** ” Zhan Tiri gently wrapped her arms around the sulking boy. “ ** _You frightened everyone, you know. You cannot let your anger be misguided. Yes, she hurt you. But, without powers, she is useless. Weak. You cannot be hurt by her. Andrew, however, is dangerous. He is the only one you need to destroy._** ”  
  
He sighed, his glowing fading to normalcy. “…Sorry.”  
  
She smiled. “ ** _I am not the one you should apologize to. Go on._** ”  
  
He nodded and headed for the door, opening it and stepping out. “Sorry about, uh…that. I was…really upset.” He raised his hand and the black-rock cage fell apart, letting Cassandra out. “I mean, he fooled you. I can’t be…mad. You were just as manipulated as me.”  
  
“Andrew, you mean?” Rapunzel asked, helping Cassandra up.  
  
“The way he told it, you guys seemed to get along.” Eugene frowned. “What really happened between you two?”  
  
Varian paled and started to tremble at the memories. “He…he made me…he…” He hugged himself tightly. “He…”  
  
Zhan Tiri stepped out and sighed. “ ** _Varian? Would you prefer that I tell them?_** ”  
  
Varian nodded. “I…I can’t. I can’t say it.”  
  
“ ** _Very well._** ” Zhan Tiri nodded. “ ** _Varian was coerced into doing sexual acts with Andrew, multiple times, ever since the day he was drugged._** ” She said calmly, while everyone present made sounds of disgust and horror. “ ** _Varian was afraid to tell anyone, and no one noticed it was going on and so it did not stop. I suspect it would have begun again had I not come to the cave and rescued Varian, as well as taken his powers from Cassandra._** ” She sighed. “ ** _Humans cannot be trusted with such power, it seems. It corrupts them, makes them cruel._** ”  
  
Quirin clenched his fists and pulled Varian into his arms. “I’m going to _kill him_.”  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m already planning to do that.” Varian said calmly, eerily calm. Like the calm before a violent, deadly storm. “We’re going to Corona tomorrow.”  
  
“What are you going to do in Corona?” Rapunzel frowned.  
  
“Drag Andrew out of prison and take him to a secluded location to kill him slowly, painfully, and make him scream for death.” Varian shrugged. “It’s what he deserves for what he did to me. Rapists don’t live in Corona.”  
  
“That’s right and, once we add it to his charges he’ll surely be executed. But, Varian, I don’t want you to kill him.” Rapunzel took his hands in hers. “He’s already taken _so much_ from you, why give him the satisfaction of making you kill someone? Of him being your first kill? Up until now, you’ve avoided killing anyone. Don’t start now! This is a line that you shouldn’t cross!”  
  
His eyes flickered, glowing briefly, and then he sighed. “But, he doesn’t _deserve_ a simple execution. I want to kill him in a certain _way_. I want to watch him beg for mercy, for me to stop. And the other Saporians…they knew. They _hid_ it from you, Cassandra, they _watched_ and _laughed_ at my muffled cries! They _all_ need to pay for what Andrew did to me!”  
  
“And they will. But, not by your hands.” She squeezed his hands and then gently removed his gloves to hold his bare hands. “Your hands are wonderful, Varian. They’re made for alchemy, for giving hugs, for making beautiful things. You shouldn’t cover them with blood.”  
  
Quirin wrapped his arm around Varian. “How did you want him killed? I’ll do it for you, I have enough blood on my hands.”  
  
“Oh, I’ll help!” Hector said excitedly.  
  
Zhan Tiri sighed. “ ** _And do you intend to let the boy watch? He has had so much taken from him, has he not earned the right to take back control? You cannot protect him forever._** ”  
  
“He’s a child and my son. I grieve for the fact that I could not protect him from what happened, but I will protect him from _killing_ someone. Once you’ve taken your first life…it sticks with you. And…trust me. It won’t make him go away. If you do it yourself, if you watch, then he will have the chance to leave you with words that will haunt you forever. He will gloat, because he made you kill.” He placed both hands on Varian’s shoulders. “Let me protect you from that, Varian. Please.”  
  
Varian pursed his lips. Rapunzel gently squeezed his hand and he looked at her. “Rapunzel?”  
  
“Every day…I am haunted with the death of Gothel. Every night, I see her as she dies. I watch as she is reduced to dust, and all I can do is reach for her as she falls out the window. I will never move past that. I will never move past what she did to me. Please, Varian…don’t do that to yourself. Don’t let him leave you with the sight of his death replaying over and over in your mind.”  
  
Varian looked at them all, then looked up at Zhan Tiri. “…Is it okay?”  
  
“ ** _I am not human, I have seen many die of various reasons over the years. I don’t even recall my first time seeing death, nor my first kill. But, if you feel that you would be haunted by it, that is entirely your choice. I set you free so you could make your own choices, Moon Child._** ”  
  
Varian nodded and sighed. “Okay…I…I won’t kill him. But, I still want to know he died in the way I want to kill him.”  
  
“Alright, just tell me and I’ll get it done.” Quirin promised. “Let’s go back to Corona.”  
  
“Oh…uh…actually,” He stepped back a bit. “I was thinking of…moving on to bigger things.”  
  
“Bigger things?” Rapunzel asked, confused.  
  
“Rapunzel…Zhan Tiri says that you and I are immortal.” Varian explained.  
  
“And you _believed_ her?” Hector asked in disbelief.  
  
“Yes.” Varian nodded. “And…Well, she had plans to destroy Corona because of a grudge, which I totally respect because I tried to do the same thing before, but I talked her out of it. Instead, we plan to go explore the world, with me by her side.” He hugged himself tightly. “I…need some time away, I guess is what I’m saying. I’ve had a really rough…uh…couple years? I need time to…realign. Heal. Or else, I might actually turn into a rage monster and kill everyone in a fit of trauma.”  
  
Quirin pursed his lips. “…Two years.”  
  
“What?” Varian blinked.  
  
“Give me two more years with you. Let me…take care of you as a teenager. I promise to do better than I have.” Quirin placed his hands on his shoulders. “I just…want more time with my boy. After that…when you’re eighteen, I will see you off and wish you a good trip with a smile.”  
  
“ ** _Do_** **_you promise it will be only two years?_** ” Zhan Tiri said calmly.  
  
“Yes.” Quirin nodded grimly.  
  
“ ** _If he is mistreated and you fail to protect him again, I will take him sooner._** ” She warned him. “ ** _Sundrop, you are welcome to join us when the time comes._** ”  
  
“It sounds… _great_ , but…I’m royalty. I’m going to be Queen in the future.” Rapunzel shook her head. “Maybe…another time?”  
  
Zhan Tiri pulled Varian close to her and wrapped her arms around him. “ ** _I will be waiting, my dear Moon Child. And watching over you, always._** ”  
  
Varian nodded. “Before we go…are you guys hungry?” He asked.  
  
Zhan Tiri smiled and showed them inside, breakfast already prepared for them to eat.  
  
\--  
  
“ ** _Here, dear one._** ” Zhan Tiri said as they got ready to leave again after a surprisingly fulfilling meal. She pulled out a cloak she had been knitting and draped it over his shoulders. “ ** _To keep you warm on the way back._** ”  
  
Varian smiled at her. “Thanks, Zhan Tiri.”  
  
She nodded, then looked at Quirin. “ ** _Do not forget my warning. I will be watching closely and, if he is taken from you again, I will rescue him myself and take him with me to lands unknown._** ”  
  
Quirin pursed his lips and nodded, reaching out to wrap his arm around Varian. “I won’t forget.”  
  
Zhan Tiri stared at him before she knelt in front of Varian and kissed his cheek. “ ** _Be safe, little Moon._** ”  
  
He smiled. “See you in two years.”  
  
“Let’s get going!” Eugene called. “We’ve got a long ride back and we’re wasting daylight.”  
  
Varian nodded and hugged Zhan Tiri before he followed his father and the others out.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homeward bound!


	13. 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the way home, there are reflections and Varian and Rapunzel bond a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

Eugene wasn’t sure what to make of their new…uh…developments.  
  
Zhan Tiri, the violent, cruel, vicious demon of legends, was acting eerily nice and motherly to Varian. Varian, by contrast, was acting like one of his inventions on the verge of blowing up if the slightest variable was off. Unexpected touch earned a sharp glare or, worst case scenario, a black-rock spike jutting out, warning the person to back away.   
  
He was also unusually, but also understandably, _hostile_ to Cassandra. Every time they spoke, it was full of bitter sarcasm and remarks about his time in the tower, and hostility towards her had extended to Hector, who apparently decided he was going to be Varian’s personal guard dog only five hours after meeting him.  
  
Granted, Cassandra and Hector didn’t really get along before, but now it was like she couldn’t get within five feet of Varian, even passing by, without Hector growling and wrapping his arms protectively around the small teenager.  
  
One of the developments that really upset him was his stupidity about Andrew. Thinking back on it, the man had _told_ him what he’d done to Varian but, because it was in _code_ , he just took him at his word and didn’t realize that the “Full-body massage” was…well, definitely not pleasant for Varian.   
  
He was planning to get a few kicks in on that beautiful face before Quirin hauled him out for his private execution. From what he’d overheard, it was going to be VERY graphic, per Varian’s request.  
  
At least he seemed, if anything, closer to Rapunzel than before. Their time in the tower as Cassandra’s prisoners had been quite the bonding experience for the two of them, apparently. When they stopped to rest while on the way out of the Great Tree to their ship, Varian and Rapunzel had cuddled up together away from the others to talk.  
  
He was just close enough to hear their conversation as he laid down to sleep.  
  
“…sure you’re okay? I mean, you were right in my hair at the time…”  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. Well, I mean, I was apparently in a bad shape, but Zhan Tiri fixed me up when she gave me the Moonstone.”  
  
“And it’s completely gone? No physical form?”  
  
“Just my body. See?”  
  
“Yeah, I…oh, Varian…”  
  
“Yeah, I hid them pretty good, huh? There were more, but most of them have faded.”  
  
“I’m so sorry that I didn’t realize it.”  
  
“You don’t notice a lot of things, princess. Like that bug on your shoulder.”  
  
“Ah! Get it off! …There’s no bug. You tricked me!”  
  
“Hahahaha!”  
  
For once, his laugh sounded genuine. Eugene smiled fondly and closed his eyes. ‘He’ll be okay. He just needs to heal.’ He thought to himself.  
  
\--  
  
The ride on the hot-air balloon was tense. Namely because it was cramped and Varian still wanted to stab Cassandra if she came too close, so she was as far away as possible from him.  
  
“Hey,” he spoke up, catch their attentions, “when we get back, Cassandra should go to prison.”  
  
“Don’t worry, kid.” Eugene assured him. “That’s already on the agenda.”  
  
“Good.” He nodded firmly. “She should be punished for everything.”  
  
Cassandra glanced to the side, feeling awkward about being here at all.  
  
“She will be.” Eugene assured him gently.  
  
Rapunzel took his hand and smiled. “Hey, you want to guess the shapes of clouds?”  
  
“Sure!” He nodded.  
  
Cassandra knew what Rapunzel was doing. She was trying to distract Varian from the darkness inside of him, that cruelty that had been born when Quirin was encased in amber, nurtured by Andrew in prison, and then…Cassandra had taken him, forced him to obey her, and then handed him off to Andrew when he disobeyed her. SHE was responsible for what happened to him at the Saporians’ hands. If she had only kept him close to her…kept an eye on him…if she’d only been less cruel, maybe she could’ve gotten him to go along with her plans as easily as Zhan Tiri did, apparently.  
  
She eyed his new clothes, a gift from Zhan Tiri, that looked less like an alchemist and more like, well, nobility or royalty. Like what Zhan Tiri wore, only black and blue instead of gray. It was a testament to how badly he’d been damaged by his experience.  
  
“Hey,” Hector moved in front of her. “Stop _looking_ at him before I cut out your eyes.”  
  
“Leave her alone.” Varian told him.  
  
Hector growled and went back to Varian’s side. His father had been silent and Eugene was clearly trying to distract himself with taking them back to Corona. Cassandra was, frankly, surprised Varian hadn’t put her in black-rock cuffs.  
  
“Oh, there’s the Spire.” Rapunzel said, pointing down. “I should take you there sometime, you’d love it.”  
  
“Yeah?” Varian followed her finger.  
  
“Lots of knowledge there. I found a piece of the Demanitus scroll there, you know!”  
  
Cassandra sighed, looking to the side, trying to tune out the happy conversation.  
  
She’d said it herself before: There was no going back to the way things were. She burned that bridge when she took the Moonstone and then Varian.  
  
She glanced at him, at the streak in his hair. How did she never even _consider_ that he might be like Rapunzel? Then again, she knew nothing about him. She found out his father was a knight from another kingdom while on the quest with Rapunzel, she still didn’t know about his mother, and now he probably wouldn’t tell her _anything_ about himself.  
  
And, in two years, he would be leaving to… _wherever_ , with a demon. A demon that Cassandra had blindly listened to, that had used her to get ahold of him.  
  
‘The Moonstone was never my destiny…’ She thought bitterly. ‘No matter what, I’m still waiting in the wings…’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra really screwed up.


	14. 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in Corona, Varian confronts Andrew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (c) Disney

When they got back to the Kingdom, Varian got out of the hot-air balloon and went to the bridge, holding out a hand as his hair and eyes started to glow. “I’m just going to fix this real quick. Sorry about being brainwashed into destroying it!” He said cheerfully, using black rocks to repair the bridge. The guards looked at it with a stunned expression and then Varian lowered his hand. “Good news, though, it can never be destroyed again!”  
  
“Welcome back, Varian!” Stan ran over and hugged him. “It’s so good to see you’re back to yourself! Though, the glowing is new.”  
  
“Yeah, turns out I’m just like Rapunzel. Magic, who knew?” He laughed a bit.  
  
He looked over his shoulder as Cassandra was taken away in chains by Eugene. “Don’t worry, Stan. I’ll never be used to attack people again.”  
  
“Varian?” Rapunzel walked over to him. “Do you want to come with me to tell my parents you’re back safe?”  
  
“No.” He shook his head. “You do that. I have to face someone.” He headed for the dungeons.  
  
“Not alone.” Quirin and Hector caught up to him. “I’m never leaving you alone around those people again.”  
  
They entered the dungeon and Eugene looked over from locking up Cassandra. “Varian.” He turned to him fully. “I’m going to talk to my dad about getting them transferred to the Dark Kingdom. Different laws; that’s the only way your dad can do what you want him to without getting in trouble.”  
  
“Okay.” Varian nodded. “Thank you.”  
  
They headed further in, Varian leading the way to the Saporians’ cells with a blank expression. When they arrived, he stopped and looked at his father. “Wait here. I want to do this alone.”  
  
“…Alright.” Quirin reluctantly agreed.  
  
Varian nodded and walked on to Andrew’s cell, stopping in front of it.  
  
“Well, well. Looks like they found you.” Andrew said with a smirk as he sat up. “And you’ve come to see me? Did you miss me that much, my little alchemist? Thinking of doing a _conjugal_ visit?”  
  
Varian bit back a retort and instead smiled serenely. “Ah, well, I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.”  
  
“Yeah? Well, you look good. I like the new clothes.” He walked up to the bars and gripped one of them. “Wish you were in here so I could take them off you.” He said in a low voice. “You know, I think we missed an opportunity by not doing that when we were cellmates.”  
  
“You like my clothes, huh?” Varian chuckled softly, closing his eyes. “I bet you’ll _love_ my hair, then.” He opened his eyes and they started to glow along with the streak in his hair. Then the glow spread out around his head and he flicked his wrist.  
  
Andrew gasped as he was suddenly pinned against the door of his cell by black rocks. They wrapped around his arms and the bars, making it so he couldn’t move at all. “Whoa…”  
  
“Let’s get this straight, _Hubert_.” Varian reached up and roughly grabbed his shirt collar. “You are _never_ going to touch me again. You will be bound in black rocks until we get to the Dark Kingdom, where you will be executed for _daring_ to touch me, you _filth_.”  
  
“Heh. Give a kid a little magic and he thinks he’s high-and-mighty.” The man said mockingly.   
  
Varian clenched his teeth and formed a black-rock sword, then stopped himself and retracted it, letting go of him as he stepped back. “No. You won’t take _that_ from me.” He turned and walked away, into his father’s waiting arms.  
  
“I’m so proud of you.” He said softly, wrapping his arms around him tightly. “You were so strong just now.”  
  
“I want him dead…” Varian buried his face in Quirin’s chest.  
  
“And he will die.” Quirin assured him. “I will personally see to it.”  
  
\--  
  
While arrangements for the transfer were made, Varian attempted to go back to normalcy. Ruddiger greeted him as soon as he left the dungeons and he happily gave him pets and cuddles. Quirin stood nearby, watching him closely.  
  
Zhan Tiri’s warning echoed in his mind as he looked at his teenage son, who had…such a horrible habit of getting into trouble. If he slipped up…if Varian got hurt by someone again, then he’d lose him forever. Zhan Tiri wanted the power of the Moonstone and he’d offered himself willingly to her, in exchange for sparing Corona. Judging by the conversation, she also wanted the Sundrop, but she wasn’t as willing as Varian.  
  
‘I can’t lose him…’ He thought. ‘If I don’t screw up, maybe I’ll see him again after he leaves with her. I can’t lose him.’  
  
“Varian, come on!” Rapunzel came over and took his hand.  
  
“Where are we going?” He asked, following her. Quirin followed behind closely.  
  
“Outside! Let’s take in some sun!” She said cheerfully. “We’re free! Finally free! Both of us, completely free!”  
  
“Free…” He smiled and ran with her as they headed outside, laughing.  
  
In the shadows, Zhan Tiri watched them with a sly smile. ‘One down, one to go.’ She thought, watching Rapunzel and Varian dance around for no reason in the town square. ‘She will come around to my side soon enough.’  
  
\--  
  
Cassandra was sent away on a prison barge for her crimes. Rapunzel and Varian sat on the dock watching it sail away, their hands clasped together.  
  
“It’ll take some time.” She said softly. “But, we will recover.”  
  
“Yeah.” Varian nodded, then looked over at the Saporians being forced onto another ship bound for the Dark Kingdom. “Looks like that’s my ride.”  
  
“Be safe.” Rapunzel said as they stood up together. “I’ll be waiting for you to get back.” She kissed his forehead. “I wish you could stay here instead of going.”  
  
“Well, they need me to remove the black rocks. Don’t worry, I promised my father I wouldn’t stay and watch.” He nodded and walked with her over to the boat. Andrew had been gagged, bound and blindfolded with black rocks and he felt a swell of satisfaction as he watched the man that tormented him get soundlessly, helplessly hauled to his death.  
  
“See you later, Moonstone.” She gently squeezed his hand.  
  
“I’ll be back, Sundrop.” He smiled and squeezed back before they let go and he followed his father onto the boat.  
  
Rapunzel stood back as the ramp was raised and they started to take off. “Be safe.” She whispered, her words lost on the wind.  
  
End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All's well that ends well, for now.
> 
> (A/N: You can bet that Cassandra sang another rendition of "Waiting in the Wings" while being taken on the prison barge, though I didn't bother showing her doing it. Thanks for reading and sticking around to the end, everyone!)

**Author's Note:**

> Bad luck follows Varian like a shadow.


End file.
